5 ms·

What are the limits? (Asked as a US guy who buys the 500 x 500mg bottles at BJ's.)

justinclift 3y ago
Interesting. How long does one of those bottles last for you? --- In Australia, the regulating body for that stuff announced new limits back in 2023. They'll apply from Feb 2025 onwards: https://www.tga.gov.au/news/media-releases/tga-makes-final-decision-reduce-paracetamol-pack-sizes https://www.tga.gov.au/news/media-releases/tga-makes-final-d... * reduce the maximum size of packs available for general sale (e.g. supermarkets and convenience stores) from 20 to 16 tablets or capsules * reduce the maximum size of packs available in pharmacies without the supervision of a pharmacist (i.e. ‘Pharmacy Only’ packs) from 100 to 50 tablets or capsules * make other pack sizes of up to 100 tablets or capsules available only under the supervision of a pharmacist (‘Pharmacist Only’ medicines). Those limits don't seem all that different from the existing pack sizes commonly on shelves though. So there's very likely some existing limits around pack sizes already.
TillE 3y ago
Not sure about the UK, but in Europe typically pills are sold as blister packs. I don't think there's a limit per se, you can still buy a box of 50 at least.
- Symbiote 3y ago
  > Countries where pack size restrictions had not been introduced were predominantly Eastern European [Slovakia, Lithuania, Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland (Lodz) and the Russia Federation (Moscow)]. https://doi.org/10.1111/bcpt.12959 https://doi.org/10.1111/bcpt.12959
domh 3y ago
You're allowed to purchase 2 packs of any drug containing paracetamol. Normally a pack contains either 12 or 24 tablets I think. Here's a link to a supermarket's policy: https://help.sainsburys.co.uk/help/products/phc-sale-analgesic https://help.sainsburys.co.uk/help/products/phc-sale-analges...
gambiting 3y ago
Here in UK the limit is two packs per person, and packs are usually 8 or 16 tablets(annoyingly the law is about packs not tablets, so you can't buy 4 packs of 8 tablets even though it's the same as buying 2 packs of 16). Tbf if you do need more you can always buy more from pharmacy in almost unlimited amount, you just have to ask for it at the counter(and I guess the pharmacist might not sell it to you if it's "suspicious" whatever that means).
IneffablePigeon 3y ago
Painkillers are sold in packs of max 16 tablets in the UK (almost always 500mg for paracetamol, 200mg for ibuprofen). In addition they must be sold in blister packs not bottles, and all shops will only allow you to buy two packets per transaction (mix and match, you can’t have 2x paracetamol and 2x ibuprofen). I believe there are some exceptions for prescriptions. Obviously you can still overdose by going to multiple stores and popping them all out of the blister packs but it puts enough of a barrier in that you have to be more determined (and more knowledgeable about what amount will actually kill you). Apparently it works.
- swores 3y ago
  > I believe there are some exceptions for prescriptions. You can essentially forget the maximum pill numbers for paracetamol/ibuprofen when it comes to prescriptions in the UK. Doctors can prescribe hundreds of either pill to be given to a patient at once (eg if someone is prescribed to take 8 a day and they get their meds monthly, as is the case with one paracetamol recipient I know, the pharmacy gives him multiple 100x 500mg paracetamol boxes each month.) (To be clear, "given to them at once" as in dispensing the pills, not giving to take all at once!)
- mytailorisrich 3y ago
  > all shops will only allow you to buy two packets per transaction They do that indeed, though I am not sure wthere it is the law of their own "do-gooder" policies. I don't think it is the law because it happened to me a few times to just pull a sad face and have the employee at the till just go "fine, but just this time". This is slightly ridiculous, IMHO: You can buy more if you want, just split transactions. And of course no-one stops you from buying a trolley-full of vodka and bleach.
  - DavidPeiffer 3y ago
    >This is slightly ridiculous, IMHO: You can buy more if you want, just split transactions. And of course no-one stops you from buying a trolley-full of vodka and bleach. You can split transactions, but committing suicide takes effort, and a relatively significant rate of suicides are impulsive. For impulsive suicide, having a barrier or interruption can prevent the attempt. Something as small as a phone call interrupting you as you get the pills out could be sufficient to move past a particular impulse. There is also a huge difference in suicide attempt method depending on gender. Women tend to gravitate towards pills, while men are more likely to use a gun.
PeterisP 3y ago
What do you do with them? I'd guess the total lifetime consumption of any medicine for me and my family is less than 500 pills, a pack of 20 can last more than a year because it's not that often that any of it is needed, and when something happens, you take them for a couple of days and that's it. Do many people in USA pop painkillers or paracetamol or aspirin daily?
- DavidPeiffer 3y ago
  >Do many people in USA pop painkillers or paracetamol or aspirin daily? Yes, it's very common, often around joint pain. Surely obesity and sedentary lifestyle play a role. 60 million Americans take Acetaminophen (paracetamol) on a weekly basis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441917/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441917/
- justsomehnguy 3y ago
  *ding ding ding* Your nose is running? Pop some NyQuil. Hangover? NyQuil. Headache from the cold? NyQuil. Cold? NyQuil. Just look at the list of symptoms it helps with at their site: https://vicks.com/en-us/shop-products/nyquil https://vicks.com/en-us/shop-products/nyquil https://tedium.co/2021/11/03/nyquil-cold-medicine-history/ https://tedium.co/2021/11/03/nyquil-cold-medicine-history/ https://www.npr.org/2022/09/22/1124252556/nyquil-chicken-challenge-fda-warning https://www.npr.org/2022/09/22/1124252556/nyquil-chicken-cha... https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fda-nyquil-chicken-warning_n_632a1a3ce4b0ed991abdeada https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fda-nyquil-chicken-warning_n_...
AdamN 3y ago
Don't want to judge but that's concerning. You can really mess up your internal organs with that much volume (even spread over a year with a family of four).
dghughes 3y ago
At Walmart I bought a bottle of 500 Aspirin and I've had it for over 10 years it may even be 15 years. I looked just now and see there are two pills left. I thought I was using too much at that rate.

Interesting. How long does one of those bottles last for you? --- In Australia, the regulating body for that stuff announced new limits back in 2023. They'll apply from Feb 2025 onwards: https://www.tga.gov.au/news/media-releases/tga-makes-final-decision-reduce-paracetamol-pack-sizes https://www.tga.gov.au/news/media-releases/tga-makes-final-d... * reduce the maximum size of packs available for general sale (e.g. supermarkets and convenience stores) from 20 to 16 tablets or capsules * reduce the maximum size of packs available in pharmacies without the supervision of a pharmacist (i.e. ‘Pharmacy Only’ packs) from 100 to 50 tablets or capsules * make other pack sizes of up to 100 tablets or capsules available only under the supervision of a pharmacist (‘Pharmacist Only’ medicines). Those limits don't seem all that different from the existing pack sizes commonly on shelves though. So there's very likely some existing limits around pack sizes already.

TillE 3y ago

Not sure about the UK, but in Europe typically pills are sold as blister packs. I don't think there's a limit per se, you can still buy a box of 50 at least.

Symbiote 3y ago
> Countries where pack size restrictions had not been introduced were predominantly Eastern European [Slovakia, Lithuania, Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland (Lodz) and the Russia Federation (Moscow)]. https://doi.org/10.1111/bcpt.12959 https://doi.org/10.1111/bcpt.12959

domh 3y ago

You're allowed to purchase 2 packs of any drug containing paracetamol. Normally a pack contains either 12 or 24 tablets I think. Here's a link to a supermarket's policy: https://help.sainsburys.co.uk/help/products/phc-sale-analgesic https://help.sainsburys.co.uk/help/products/phc-sale-analges...

gambiting 3y ago

Here in UK the limit is two packs per person, and packs are usually 8 or 16 tablets(annoyingly the law is about packs not tablets, so you can't buy 4 packs of 8 tablets even though it's the same as buying 2 packs of 16). Tbf if you do need more you can always buy more from pharmacy in almost unlimited amount, you just have to ask for it at the counter(and I guess the pharmacist might not sell it to you if it's "suspicious" whatever that means).

IneffablePigeon 3y ago

Painkillers are sold in packs of max 16 tablets in the UK (almost always 500mg for paracetamol, 200mg for ibuprofen). In addition they must be sold in blister packs not bottles, and all shops will only allow you to buy two packets per transaction (mix and match, you can’t have 2x paracetamol and 2x ibuprofen). I believe there are some exceptions for prescriptions. Obviously you can still overdose by going to multiple stores and popping them all out of the blister packs but it puts enough of a barrier in that you have to be more determined (and more knowledgeable about what amount will actually kill you). Apparently it works.

swores 3y ago
> I believe there are some exceptions for prescriptions. You can essentially forget the maximum pill numbers for paracetamol/ibuprofen when it comes to prescriptions in the UK. Doctors can prescribe hundreds of either pill to be given to a patient at once (eg if someone is prescribed to take 8 a day and they get their meds monthly, as is the case with one paracetamol recipient I know, the pharmacy gives him multiple 100x 500mg paracetamol boxes each month.) (To be clear, "given to them at once" as in dispensing the pills, not giving to take all at once!)
mytailorisrich 3y ago
> all shops will only allow you to buy two packets per transaction They do that indeed, though I am not sure wthere it is the law of their own "do-gooder" policies. I don't think it is the law because it happened to me a few times to just pull a sad face and have the employee at the till just go "fine, but just this time". This is slightly ridiculous, IMHO: You can buy more if you want, just split transactions. And of course no-one stops you from buying a trolley-full of vodka and bleach.
- DavidPeiffer 3y ago
  >This is slightly ridiculous, IMHO: You can buy more if you want, just split transactions. And of course no-one stops you from buying a trolley-full of vodka and bleach. You can split transactions, but committing suicide takes effort, and a relatively significant rate of suicides are impulsive. For impulsive suicide, having a barrier or interruption can prevent the attempt. Something as small as a phone call interrupting you as you get the pills out could be sufficient to move past a particular impulse. There is also a huge difference in suicide attempt method depending on gender. Women tend to gravitate towards pills, while men are more likely to use a gun.

PeterisP 3y ago

What do you do with them? I'd guess the total lifetime consumption of any medicine for me and my family is less than 500 pills, a pack of 20 can last more than a year because it's not that often that any of it is needed, and when something happens, you take them for a couple of days and that's it. Do many people in USA pop painkillers or paracetamol or aspirin daily?

DavidPeiffer 3y ago
>Do many people in USA pop painkillers or paracetamol or aspirin daily? Yes, it's very common, often around joint pain. Surely obesity and sedentary lifestyle play a role. 60 million Americans take Acetaminophen (paracetamol) on a weekly basis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441917/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441917/
justsomehnguy 3y ago
*ding ding ding* Your nose is running? Pop some NyQuil. Hangover? NyQuil. Headache from the cold? NyQuil. Cold? NyQuil. Just look at the list of symptoms it helps with at their site: https://vicks.com/en-us/shop-products/nyquil https://vicks.com/en-us/shop-products/nyquil https://tedium.co/2021/11/03/nyquil-cold-medicine-history/ https://tedium.co/2021/11/03/nyquil-cold-medicine-history/ https://www.npr.org/2022/09/22/1124252556/nyquil-chicken-challenge-fda-warning https://www.npr.org/2022/09/22/1124252556/nyquil-chicken-cha... https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fda-nyquil-chicken-warning_n_632a1a3ce4b0ed991abdeada https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fda-nyquil-chicken-warning_n_...

AdamN 3y ago

Don't want to judge but that's concerning. You can really mess up your internal organs with that much volume (even spread over a year with a family of four).

dghughes 3y ago

At Walmart I bought a bottle of 500 Aspirin and I've had it for over 10 years it may even be 15 years. I looked just now and see there are two pills left. I thought I was using too much at that rate.