> all shops will only allow you to buy two packets per transaction
They do that indeed, though I am not sure wthere it is the law of their own "do-gooder" policies. I don't think it is the law because it happened to me a few times to just pull a sad face and have the employee at the till just go "fine, but just this time".
This is slightly ridiculous, IMHO: You can buy more if you want, just split transactions. And of course no-one stops you from buying a trolley-full of vodka and bleach.
>This is slightly ridiculous, IMHO: You can buy more if you want, just split transactions. And of course no-one stops you from buying a trolley-full of vodka and bleach.
You can split transactions, but committing suicide takes effort, and a relatively significant rate of suicides are impulsive. For impulsive suicide, having a barrier or interruption can prevent the attempt. Something as small as a phone call interrupting you as you get the pills out could be sufficient to move past a particular impulse.
There is also a huge difference in suicide attempt method depending on gender. Women tend to gravitate towards pills, while men are more likely to use a gun.
The impulse has to be to eat the tablets or whatever's on hand. Going all the way to the shop to stock up on tablets does not strike me as impulsive.
So IMHO this restriction is an attempt at limiting the stock people have at home. Although I would argue this is none of the shop's business and, as far as I can gather, this is not a legal restriction.
> So IMHO this restriction is an attempt at limiting the stock people have at home
Correct. But this isn't a bad thing - it means people are less likely to have a large supply of dangerous pills at hand if they get a sudden urge to kill themselves or attempt a cry for help during a depressive episode.
> Although I would argue this is none of the shop's business
In practical terms it appears that this actually does reduce suicides and poisonings; it's a significant reduction in suffering in the world.
The cost is a very small and temporary limitation on personal convenience. It's surely worth it. See also seatbelt laws.
> and, as far as I can gather, this is not a legal restriction.
It is in some countries, but the legal obligation is on the vendor, not the individual. If you are confident that you do need a larger cache of tablets then you can do that yourself with only minimal extra inconvenience.
I think it's an elegant solution. Suicides are reduced, but the state doesn't overrule individual decision making on what their needs are.
The pack size is a legal restriction, not the number of packs you can buy in one transaction as long as the total number of tablets does not exceed 100 (i.e. legal restriction is in effect 6 packs in one transaction), from what I understand, while the 2-pack restriction is a "voluntary best practice".
Those 'voluntary' limitations, and there are others, are a bit of a pet peeve of mine because they strike me as hypocrisy/posturing/paternalism.
I think the main thing is the blister pack requirement, you can't just unscrew the lid and down a bottle.
Limiting to two... I don't know, it has occasionally annoyed me (when I think I want to 'stock up') but I suppose there's just no reason you actually need more than that at once (other than self-harm or with a prescription) so meh why not if it has a small chance at stopping a few suicide attempts.
They do that indeed, though I am not sure wthere it is the law of their own "do-gooder" policies. I don't think it is the law because it happened to me a few times to just pull a sad face and have the employee at the till just go "fine, but just this time".
This is slightly ridiculous, IMHO: You can buy more if you want, just split transactions. And of course no-one stops you from buying a trolley-full of vodka and bleach.