Researchers link smaller pack sizes and major reduction paracetamol-related deaths

Taken from the British Medical Journal (BMJ) – by Bruce Sylvester – Deaths and liver transplants related to paracetamol overdoses have decreased significantly due to UK legislation which reduced  pack sizes, researchers reported on Feb.7, 2013  in the BMJ.

As background they noted that paracetamol overdoses have historically been a common method of suicide and frequent cause of liver damage. In September 1998, the UK government introduced legislation limiting pack sizes to a maximum of 32 tablets for pharmacy-sales and 16 for non-pharmacy sales.

The investigators examined 1993-2009 data in England and Wales on poisoning deaths and liver unit registrations. The data came from the Office of National Statistics for individuals aged 10 years and over. The UK Transplant (now NHS Blood and Transplant) supplied data on liver transplants.

The researchers reported a significant decrease in paracetamol- related deaths in England and Wales.  The estimated average decrease in the number of deaths was 17 per quarter compared with the expected number (based on pre-legislation data).

The result was an overall decrease of 43% in the 11-year post-legislation period.

There were 482 fewer than expected registrations at UK liver units for paracetamol-induced liver transplantation in England and Wales following the legislation, a 61% decrease.

They noted that paracetamol poisoning remains a public health problem, causing an average of 121 deaths per year.