Perhaps the people you know is the outlier group? Aspirin is one of the most common painkillers in use globally.
Wikipedia: "Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid, is a medication used to reduce pain, fever, or inflammation"
Wikipedia: "Aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid, is a medication used to reduce pain, fever, or inflammation"
Not sure what the other poster means by 'extremely hard to get'. Ask for it at the counter at any pharmacy and there you go. Maybe they're referring to it not being available at the counter in supermarkets? (Whereas paracetamol is.)
I'm in the unfortunate situation that Acetylsalicylsalicylic acid (wow, that's a mouthful!) is the only thing that really work for my headaches... so I might be counter-biased wrt. your experience.
It's just that I perhaps seek it out by default and it's not difficult to obtain from that perspective. (Though you always have to listen to the lecture...)
https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-detai...
Paracetamol is a much safer option with almost no side effects, as long as you stick to the daily limits.
Plugging in this video (in french) from a doctor about various painkillers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCg6if1KZvQ
It might or might not be safe, but the parent claim was that nobody they know uses it as a painkiller, and that thus it's a "strange choice" if someone does, when it's (a) very common worldwide, (b) described as such in every medical website or source.