Fewer paracetamol overdoses since new regulations

Less people are overdosing on paracetamol since the introduction of a ban on 24 packs in supermarkets.

The National Poisons Information Centre at Beaumont Hospital has said the numbers deliberately overdosing on the drug have significantly reduced.

Since October 2001, only pharmacies are allowed to sell more than 12 painkillers at a time.

The NPIC examined cases between 1999 and 2003 and found after the introduction of the law in 2001 there was a large drop in the numbers of people taking more than 12 tablets at any one time.