LONDON: Customers are being allowed to buy potentially lethal amounts of over-the-counter painkillers in one go, an alarming investigation has revealed.
More than half of shops sold more than the recommended amount, with one customer allowed to buy 240 aspirins in one go – nearly eight times above the national regulations of 32 tablets.
Guidelines from the UK’s medicines’ regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, state ‘no retailer should sell more than two packets of paracetamol (500mg) in one transaction’.
This is considered a reasonable balance between meeting someone’s need for immediate pain relief while helping to prevent stockpiling and either an accidental or impulsive overdose, they state.
But the investigation found the regulations were frequently flouted – with potentially devastating consequences.