Banning this pain killer could cause a whole lot of hurt

Paracetamol - the country's go-to headache pill - could soon be on the endangered species list. Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration is considering restricting access to the medicine, including by shrinking pack sizes, limiting adults to buying only one or two packets at a time, and outright banning under 18s from purchasing without a prescription.

The reasoning? Teen overdosing is on the rise, according to one study. The man behind the study, Nicholas Buckley, said, "Deliberate self-harm is a harder thing to stop, but stopping harm from paracetamol, specifically, is easier." That logic suggests everything that has the potential to be misused should be restricted or banned, lest those looking to deliberately overdose simply turn to a different household good.

Such a move would make life harder for the majority while failing to address the motives of young people looking to self harm. Carrying out such an incredible scope of bureaucracy would cost taxpayers enormously, not to mention create a whole new realm of black markets. Restricting access to paracetamol alone effectively creates the demand side of a black market, sparking the conditions that often lead to the production and sale of a higher risk, unregulated and, often, unsafe product.