it is an overdose, and wouldn't have done him much good but 8/9 paracetamol is definately not enough to kill you. paracetamol is very mild, to kill yourself and do the job properly you'd probably need at least 2-3 packs, maybe even more depending on your BMI. in a shop where i used to work you weren't allowed to sell more than 6 packs to one person at a time incase they used them to harm themselves