The government is doing away with Co-proxamol because of it's role in suicide. It is second only to tricyclics (anti-depressants) as the favoured prescribed drug of choice for suicide.

There is also an increased risk of accidental overdose, because one of the ingredients is dangerous in small doses, also if you take alcohol with it (as most suicide attempts do), then the drug is made more toxic.

There has been no proof that Co-Proxamol is any more effective than normal paracetamol in the relief of pain.

There are between 400-500 deaths per year due to Co-Proxamol poisoning. Approximately one fifth of these are due to accidental overdoses.

The Royal Colleges (doctors and the like) were all unanimous in asking for it's removal, while the patients who were asked, were all against it being removed.

And yet...

There are a lot of people who I know, for which Co-Proxamol is an effective painkiller.

More people kill themselves via paracetamol than any other drug (and it is often a much longer, painful death).

If people are going to kill themselves, then they will find a way to do it.

The MHRA recommendation for pain relief suggests the prescription of tricyclics for more severe pain relief - you may recognise 'tricyclics', it's the most popular prescribed drug or overdosing.

I'm guessing (for I haven't seen the report) that many of the accidental overdoses, are actually people who have taken an overdose and then changed their minds about it - or that they haven't realised quite how dangerous these drugs can be.

At the end of the day, any drug can be misused, but a lot of people now feel that the authorities are trying to 'nanny' us. I can only hope that this will mean that GP's will be better trained in pain management. Unfortunately I doubt it.

Please note IANAP (I Am Not A Pharmacist)