§ Dr. NaysmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what consideration has been given to allowing elderly and infirm people to buy aspirin in larger quantities than currently allowed; and if he will make a statement; [39868]
613W(2) what assessment he has made of the health implications of variations in costs of the new aspirin and paracetamol pack sizes; and if he will make a statement; [39867]
(3) if he will review the impact of the regulations on aspirin and paracetamol pack sizes on the elderly and infirm; and if he will make a statement. [39866]
§ Jacqui SmithWe introduced pack size restrictions for paracetamol and aspirin in September 1998, because of concerns about the number of deaths and serious morbidity connected with overdosing and the evidence that many patients who intentionally overdose, use products already available in the home.
The Medicine Controls Agency is monitoring the impact of the pack size measures, by examining a range of data, including hospital admissions, liver transplants and deaths from self-poisoning and will review their effectiveness once sufficient data have been collected. A study by the Centre for Suicide Research at Warneford Hospital in Oxford (reported in the British Medical Journal on 18 May 2001) has reported a fall in the number of deaths from poisoning with paracetamol alone (21 per cent. and a reduction in liver transplants (66 per cent.).
The elderly and infirm, as all other people with recurrent or long-term needs, can get up to 100 aspirin or paracetamol tablets (in packs of 32) from their pharmacist without a prescription. The restrictions governing "over the counter" sales do not apply to aspirin and paracetamol dispensed against a prescription so larger quantities can be prescribed.