We found 22 painkillers on the shelves of one Wellington supermarket (and that doesn't include the various pack sizes).
You could choose which pain you wanted to treat (back, neck, migraine, tension headache, period pain) and how you wanted to treat it - with a tablet, caplet, capsule or gel cap. But just how different are they?
Active ingredients
Most pain relievers sold in supermarkets are based on one of three active ingredients - aspirin, ibuprofen or paracetamol. While the levels of aspirin varied (usually between 300 and 500 milligrams per tablet), the other products we found contained either 500 milligrams of paracetamol or 200 milligrams of ibuprofen per tablet.
Tablets and caplets
Basic painkillers came as tablets or caplets (capsule-shaped tablets that may be easier to swallow). Nurofen usually cost the same but several stores charged more for Panadol caplets than for the tablets. You would often pay extra for capsules that contain a powder and for gel caps or tabs with a gelatine coating.
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