It will soon be the season to be jolly – and often wind up with a sore head as a result.
Revellers, beware! It might prove challenging to manage your hangover using painkillers this year.
Official statistics show that the usual round of Christmas parties is approaching, and there has been a shortage of paracetamol tablets and ibuprofen. This means that Britons are stocking up on medication to combat possible Covid symptoms like flu or colds.

Official figures reveal that there is a shortage of paracetamol and ibuprofen as Britons prepare for possible Covid symptoms and flu.
There were also shortages in frozen turkeys, sparkling waters and chocolate selection box.
For this purpose, hundreds of retailers were visited by researchers to determine if there are any stocks of the benchmark products.
Overall, 15.6 percent of shops had low stock levels or were out of ibuprofen. Paracetamol was at 14.5 percent.
18% were short of or had run out of turkeys, while 17% reported a shortage of sparkling water.
The Office for National Statistics reported that chocolate boxes were absent from 12 percent of the stores.
According to the ONS, only 39% of retailers have high milk levels and 49% bread.
The problem of sparkling water seems to be part and parcel of the wider soft drink industry.
It follows a shortage of carbon dioxide earlier this year – the gas puts fizz into liquid.
Market analyst Susannah Streeter, of financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said there had been a ‘run on ibuprofen and paracetamol as winter viruses take hold’ amid the pandemic.
She added: ‘It seems Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without turkey on the table as the birds are flying out of the deep freeze faster than supermarkets can stock up again.

Market analyst Susannah Streeter, of financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said there had been a ‘run on ibuprofen and paracetamol as winter viruses take hold’ amid the pandemic
There has been a lack of supply of sparkling water, with some supermarkets finding it hard to replace bottles on the shelves, given the fall in production of carbonated drinks due to the shortage of carbon dioxide.’
Similar findings were found in a Kantar study on retail analysts.
Fraser McKevitt, of Kantar, said: ‘Consumers are stocking up on products to help them feel better.
Sales of cold treatments this month doubled compared with last year while cough liquids shot up 147 per cent.’