Paracetamol is such a commonly used drug, it's potential harm can be overlooked. But every year thousands of people overdose on the medication prompting changes to how the drug is sold. WARNING: This story discusses self harm and suicide. For privacy reasons we have modified the voice of a person in this story.
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00:00This Perth mother found out her daughter was really struggling with her mental health when
00:07she overdosed on paracetamol at just 14.
00:11I didn't actually have paracetamol in our house.
00:15I did that and my daughter still bought it, still stole it and still overdosed on it.
00:21Across Australia, thousands of people are overdosing on paracetamol every year.
00:26The government, I guess, is struggling to come up with some explanations and some strategies
00:31to deal with this massive increase in self-harming behaviour.
00:35When used at recommended doses, paracetamol is considered extremely safe, but it can cause
00:40major damage if misused.
00:43It's a very serious problem when people overdose on paracetamol because unfortunately, unless
00:49some therapy is instituted fairly quickly, permanent liver damage and indeed complete
00:54liver failure can result.
00:56In Victoria, more than 3,700 people OD'd on the drug in the two years to July.
01:01Almost 30% were girls 16 or younger.
01:05In Western Australia, more than 1,400 people presented to an emergency department with
01:09paracetamol poisoning.
01:10Of those, 34% were females aged 16 and under.
01:14Of the paracetamol overdoses in the ACT, 26% were in this age group and in Tasmania, it
01:20was 34%.
01:22The Northern Territory records its figures differently.
01:2430% of women presenting to EDs overdosing on paracetamol were 19 or younger.
01:30South Australia and Queensland don't specifically record overdoses by paracetamol and in New
01:35South Wales, the information is not publicly available.
01:39The overall number of people overdosing on paracetamol has dropped, but the number of
01:44people who overdose on purpose rather than by accident is rising and many of them are
01:49young women.
01:50The Therapeutic Goods Administration wants changes to how paracetamol is sold.
01:55From February, pack sizes in supermarkets and shops will be reduced from 20 to 16 tablets
02:01and larger pack sizes of up to 100 will only be sold by pharmacists.
02:05The Australian Medical Association supports the changes but had lobbied the TGA to go
02:10even further, recommending it be sold from behind the counter only.
02:14The TGA rejected that, but this Perth mum wants them to reconsider.
02:19We just have to try and protect them from themselves, from feelings of hopelessness
02:27at their lowest point in school and feelings of impulsivity even when that is the case
02:34as well.
02:35An education campaign about how to use and store paracetamol will begin this month.