The news that millions of contaminated paracetamol tablets are in circulation has caused concern among users. Authorities say the painkiller is still safe to use. The majority of Plus readers (74 percent) therefore continue to swallow. A quarter of the readers are less confident. This is evident from a poll among 1,800 readers on this site.
Daily newspaper NRC and TV show zembla discovered last week that an estimated 36 million contaminated paracetamol tablets have been made. They contain the carcinogen PCA. The tablets contained very little of this substance, they still met the safety standard for medicines.
Unfortunately, you can’t check your medicine cabinet to see if your paracetamol is ‘clean’. It is not known which brand or which batch of paracetamol is contaminated and which is not.
Negligible
Some Plus readers are dependent on paracetamol and do not want to switch to another medication such as ibuprofen or naproxen because of the side effects.
For Plus Reader Wilma, paracetamol is the only painkiller she can use in connection with her kidneys. “I’ve had cancer twice, but paracetamol had nothing to do with it. I don’t think it will go that fast,” she writes in response to this site.
Another is not concerned about the pollution anyway, which according to authorities is also very light. “The proportion of carcinogenic substance is so small that it is negligible,” responds Pieter. And Marianne continues to swallow without worry. “If necessary, I just use paracetamol. Because how long has this substance been in it without us knowing it?”
To trust
A quarter of Plus readers indicate that they would rather stop taking the drug for the time being. The trust is gone.
Plus reader Anja is experiencing it for the second time, she writes in response to our Facebook page. She also took ranitidine for ten years, an antacid that was recalled by pharmaceuticals at the end of last year when it turned out that it contained possible carcinogens. That her paracetamol tablets may now also be contaminated is the last straw. “I don’t need it anymore.”
