CONCERNS about the appropriateness of the current scheduling of paracetamol has prompted the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to launch a public consultation about proposed amendments to the Poisons Standard.
The decision to seek feedback on the scheduling of the molecule stemmed from "available data on paracetamol poisoning, including intentional overdose, and associated hospitalisations and deaths".
Proposed changes include "the prohibition of display and self-selection of paracetamol in general [non-pharmacy] retail outlets", to discourage "impulsive purchasing" of products by vulnerable people; reducing the maximum pack sizes of unscheduled and S2 products; or restricting the number of packets patients can buy, to reduce "home stockpiles".
Other options being considered by the TGA include making modified release products Prescription-Only "to reduce inappropriate use of this product, which is harder to treat in overdose than immediate release paracetamol"; requiring paracetamol tablets and capsules to be packed in blister packs, which make it "slower to consume" as they must be individually ejected from the blisters; and limiting the purchasing of over-the-counter analgesics to people aged 18 years and older, a move that "would be expected to reduce poisonings among 10 to 17-year-olds".
Speaking at the Pharmacy Industry Roadshow in Sydney last week, Pharmacy Guild of Australia National President, Trent Twomey, noted that the Guild had opposed the original decision to down-schedule paracetamol.
"I went and dug up the Guild's submission that we did to oppose the down-scheduling of paracetamol... and it said that 'it will be used as a drug of abuse by young women who are having suicide attempts'," he said.
"Then the next molecule - ibuprofen - 'will result in an increase in gastric bleeds'.
"There is now a post-market review on both of those molecules by the Australian Committee on Medication Scheduling, because funnily enough both those things are happening."
The closing date for submissions relating to the consultation process will be 14 Oct.
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