Should painkillers and medications containing paracetamol be available by prescription only?
Although it is currently part of many daily lives, the question being asked now is whether it should be compulsory for painkillers and medications containing paracetamol to be available by prescription only. Being sold at virtually all chemists and many supermarkets over the counter, paracetamol products are an easily attainable drug that is not dangerous if consumed as the label instructs; conversely, if it is taken with alcohol, with other medications containing paracetamol or is taken in excess, intentionally or otherwise, it can cause serious effects to the body. As such, an increasing number of people, prominently troubled teens, view it as a viable way to overdose, with or without the intention of suicide. By making these products available to people by prescription only it may decrease the number of suicides and attempted suicides caused by paracetamol overdosed in the global community. Many, who resort to overdosing on paracetamol products, do not realize the full effects of it on the body. Generally, paracetamol reduces the effects of pain by reducing the synthesis and productions of prostaglandins, located in practically every organ and tissue, and are responsible for the intervention of pain and fever. However, it has been shown that increased toxicity of paracetamol prompts major changes in a cell’s biochemical composition. In an article from Australian Life Science, it stated, “Paracetamol impairs the function of mitochondria that synthesize ATP”¹ by primarily causing an “increase in lactic and alanine in liver tissues, accompanied by increases in lipid triglycerides and monounsaturated fats”¹. By doing this, the paracetamol forces the cells in the body to perform glycolosis, in place of the decreasing efficiency of ATP production. These effects of excessive amounts of paracetamol cause the cells to expire energy, thus instigating vital organs such as the liver to shut down, causing death.