anyone got any painkillers

The title is one of the most frequent questions asked in work. There is an interesting article in this Saturday's Guardian on the dangers of over the counter (otc) painkillers and the possible addiction to painkillers that afflicts three percent of people in the UK. It is a well written and argued case for more control in otc painkillers, they are far too easy to obtain and we take them for the slightest pain or sniffle, the advertising makes such a strong case for not suffering or slacking. Several years back I took neurofen on a daily basis as prescribed by my doctor for RSI, now I'm intolerant to them, I get a mild allergic reaction to them, I tend to be more careful with respect to medicines these days and ask why am I taking this or being offered it and what are are the side-effects.
The article raises several other interesting points about addicition to codeine and the recurrent headaches that some people get from overuse of painkillers. it also comments on the difficulties in getting support for getting off addiction to legal drugs, no-one wants to admit that they are addictive, so you must pay to attend rehab yourself. For paracetamol there is an additional concern. The effective dose for 50% of the population is quite close to the lethal dose for 1% (BMJ article 1, BMJ article 2), yet the pharmaceutical companies are loathe to to introduce drugs containing an antidote to overdosing, as it tastes bad, makes you sick and costs more.
An interesting article that raises an interesting issue that affects most of us, have you got any paracetamol with you today ?