Just popped into sainsburys, tried to buy 1 Lemsip and 2 small packs of nurofren, was refused as you can "only buy 2 medical items as we aint a pharmacy" since when has this been in?? seems a little nannyish really
I f i wasn't pushed for time I'd have asked the guy behind me to buy them!
Pretty sure they should only limit you to two paracetamol containing products.
I have this happen to me when buying Aspirin but then been allowed to put the second box through as another transaction immeditally after the first.
Thats not right- you can only buy two products which contain paracetamol. Seems they got confused
Donkeys oh that makes a bit more sense!
Thats not right- you can only buy two products which contain paracetamol. Seems they got confused
It's not just paracetamol, you can't buy more than two packs of Ibruprofen either. In supermarkets the till's will prevent them from scanning more than two packs in a single transaction.
Graham thats just world gone mad stuff isnt it!
Jon but I only wanted 2 nurofen and lemsip!
unfortunately too many people were dying slow, agonising deaths from paracetomol overdoses when they bought this rule in.
It may not stop a determined individual and may be inconvenient for the rest of us but even if it deterred one person it's probably worth it.
I couldn't buy Calpol when the pharmacist was at lunch
Think I might find a cheaper and more effcient way to do myself in
or
Got asked why I wanted to buy Kaolin and Morphine?
Despite its lovely taste I assured the lady it was because I had the Tom Tits
Bonkers the lot of em
jon1973,
There is only a legal limit on Aspirin and Paracetamol. Some supermarkets have a blanket "no more than two packs of painkillers rule"- this s a guidline though, not a legal thing.
Only pharmacys can sell packs of 32+. Superarkets are all packs of 8/16
The checkout tills do prompt, and the operator can't overide this. Pretty sure we limit Aspirin and Paracetamol, but not Ibruprofen.
I tell you what it is:
It's political correctness gorn MAAAAD, aintit!!
had similar a while back - was going on holiday and wanted to stock up just in case (no not to switzerland)
it was a while back because i wasted my time pointing out the store (ASDA) was being selective in what laws it chose to break - at the time ASDA was heavily discounting books which broke the net book price agreement (enshrined in law) - not surprisingly the checkout person didn't bend under the power of this brilliant argument so i walked next door to Boots and bought some more and then next door again to M&S
So I should have demanded managers etc!, didnt matter as i was just stocking up, but i am taking a few at the moment after having a big dental job done,if i had been in pain it would have been Falling down all over again
its probably designed to stop numpties on supermarket tills who dont know calpol = paracetamol + sugar + flavour
and
nurophen = ibuproophen
and
lemsip = paracetamol + sugar
in fairness if you were buying branded painkillers and flu remidies you deserved everything you got!
If they have the tills setup to limit purchases (of all painkillers etc) managers can't change that- it can't be bypassed.
notaspoon I was buying own brands easier to explain with branded names
It used to drive me nuts in my local pharmacy, I'd go in and get my 500 cocodamol, and needed paracetemol to give me the option of reducting the dosage, and they'd only sell me 32 at a time. "BUT I EFFECTIVELY HAVE 500 PARACETEMOL IN THIS BOX" "Yeah I know but we can only give you 32"
A couple of years ago in the US, I bought a single tub containing 1200 Aspirin.
I guess I have used 100 max in 2 years. Going at my current rate, it will last me a further 22 years....
So the checkout operator should break the rules just for your convenience? Ok...
I can remember a thread on the old forum, something similar.
Cashier would not allow the purchase of more than two boxes of
Paracetemol, but six bottle of scotch where ok.
grahamh,
people don't accidently OD on alcohol. Lots of people take lemsip for congestion/runny noses/sore throat then pop paracetamol for the splitting headache they have.
It's not just paracetamol, you can't buy more than two packs of Ibruprofen either. In supermarkets the till's will prevent them from scanning more than two packs in a single transaction.
I've just recently bought 4 packs of super-strength paracetamol + codeine along with 3 packs of ibuprofen, in one transaction, at a major supermarket. No-one said anything? Maybe it's because I looked happy?
I guess I have used 100 max in 2 years.
Check the shelf life of aspirin 
If your bottle smells like vinegar it's starting to go off noticably!
people don't accidently OD on alcohol. Lots of people take lemsip for congestion/runny noses/sore throat then pop paracetamol for the splitting headache they have.
Fairly sure it takes far more than a double dose to do serious harm? And regular dosages are for fairly small sized people IIRC (though I'm not suggesting overdoing it on purpose!). The specs for single-dose toxicity are 200mg/kg or 10 grams, thats 20 of the highest-strength tablets in Asda IIRC?
A bit OT but I was refused methylated spirits in B&Q once, Because it was a Sunday.
Morrisons won't let me buy 2 packs of ranitidine,an antacid with no common major side effects.
Ian
Ranitidine is an H2-receptor antagonist not an antacid.
If you have to take OTC Ranitidine long term then you should see your doctor as you may be suffereing from something worse than gastric reflux.
Northwind - MemberIt used to drive me nuts in my local pharmacy, I'd go in and get my 500 cocodamol, and needed paracetemol to give me the option of reducting the dosage, and they'd only sell me 32 at a time. "BUT I EFFECTIVELY HAVE 500 PARACETEMOL IN THIS BOX" "Yeah I know but we can only give you 32"
(there is a daft arcane law about selling meths on Sundays, Bank Holidays etc)
ranitidine, 14 days max I think
Got refused buying 20 boxes of chocolates in Tesco a few years ago,they had loads of boxes, but got told the reason was i may sell them on and make a profit, or wait till the price went up and bring them back and make a profit.
They failed to understand as it was Christmas they where for my Dad to give out as presents to his care home staff.
Went back a few weeks latter and picked up 10 boxes of each type of sweet, and loads of other things,at a very busy time,put them all on the conveyor,big queue behind, and she said i couldnt buy more than a few of each,so left the whole lot on the belt and in the trolley and walked out.
Not many happy shoppers behind me though.
OK. I work in a proper pharmacy. The rule in a shop where there is no pharmacist is 2x16 Paracetamol. Nurofen is not restricted really but sold in small packs. If you need more of any painkillers it's best to have specialist advice. Taking more than 8 paracetamol in 24hrs can damage you badly or kill. You shouldn't really take ibuprofen products & aspirin if you have asthma as it can make it worse. Ibuprofen should also NOT be taken if you have stomach problems as it will make it worse or possibly cause internal bleeding. You should ALWAYS take the latter with food.
Lemsip and most other cold remedys contain paracetamol (or ibuprofen) but because some people don't bother to read the leaflet inside the box they sometimes end up over-dosing by mistake.
On a supermarket checkout the staff would probably not be trained to advise about drugs so their best policy is to restrict the sale.
PS: Co-codamol can only be sold where there is a pharmacist present as well as Kaolin & Morphine. They are addictive. It's best to used Immodium for TOM TITS!
Paracetamol overdose is a horrible way to go. A lot of lives have been saved for a bit of inconvenience to the rest of us.
Aye you spend a looooong time dying. A not insignificant chuck of the people awaiting liver transplants are due to paracetamol overdose. It annoys me with a lot of cold remedy stuff its difficult to get it without paracetamol in it and its not always that obvious in the labeling that its there.
More complete bollocks from the pc crowd who want to shaft the majority and treat us like criminals just because of the actions of a few cretins. OD? if its self inflicted deliberately so what , just like any other suicide. Sad but its up to the individual. accidental? so is steeping out in front of a bus. Lets ban them.
put one packet on the conveyer belt then put a next customer plastic thing down........repeat until you've enough to kill a horse
I doubt that genuinely inadvertent paracetamol overdose accounts for more than a tiny fraction of the bad end of the spectrum (though I think the number of kids doing so has dropped since the pack size laws changed - adults a bit more complex and not quite as rosy-looking as time goes on)
Paracetamol was a few yrs ago responsible for less than 10% of overdose deaths in the UK - even if you included all the co-proxamol etc and the combinations with alcohol. The dropping of dextropropoxyphene from majority of NHS usage seems to have saved far more lives than the pack size thing
Right. If you want to top yourself with paracetamol, you go to more than one shop. So nothing's been stopped there.
This is all more about if someone does stiff themselves using paracetamol, the shop can't get sued for selling them too much. That's all there is to it.
PS: Co-codamol can only be sold where there is a pharmacist present as well as Kaolin & Morphine. They are addictive. It's best to used Immodium for TOM TITS!
? Fairly sure my local asda, with no pharmacist, sells a P&C generic right off the shelf? I'll have to check next time.
why are you taking Lemsip? Aren't some of the ingredients in it on the WADA list? This may affect your chance at the next Olympics 
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