why patients choose paracetamol
Last reviewed 01/2018
Paracetamol if the most commonly abused substance in deliberate self-poisoning.
A survey of 80 patients admitted for paracetamol overdosage revealed the following information:
- about 60% used paracetamol because of its easy availability
- about 40% used paracetamol because of its danger
- over 50% obtained paracetamol specifically for the poisoning
- nearly 80% realised that overdosage could cause death
- only 23% realised that the harmful effects could take more than 24 hr to appear