From yesterday, the way Australians get their much-needed headache relief has changes. If you’re buying your good old trusty Paracetamol from a non-pharmacy retailer such as a supermarket, they will come to you in a pack of 16, instead of the previous 20.

This change was decided upon in 2023, by the Australian Therapeutic Drugs Administration.

The sale of packs containing 20 tables or more will be illegal if they are sold anywhere other than a pharmacy.

The limits include any medicine which has paracetamol in it, including cold and flu medicines.

Packets of paracetamol can be sold with a maximum of 16 tablets.

Pharmacies are required to decrease the maximum number of tablets or capsules they can sell over the counter, from 100 per box to 50.

From now on, you can only get boxes of 100 paracetamol tablets behind the counter at a pharmacy.

Panadol already began lowering the number of tablets sold in their packets late last year.

The changes were made due to concerning levels of paracetamol overdose.

Around 225 people are admitted to hospital for treatment every year with liver injury due to paracetamol overdoses.

Another 50 die from misuse of the drug.

According to the TGA, rates of intentional overdose of paracetamol are the highest among adolescents and young adults.