FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Union’s healthcare regulator on Friday recommended pulling prolonged-release forms of the popular painkiller paracetamol off the market because cases of overdosing were too difficult to reverse.

“Experience has shown that in overdose, because of the way the paracetamol in modified-release products is released in the body, the usual treatment procedures (against overdosing) developed for immediate-release products are not appropriate,” the regulator said.

Excessive paracetamol use can damage the liver and can even be deadly if an antidote is not given in the appropriate way, the regulator’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee said in a statement.