Bland, small painkillers (8)
I believe the answer is:
anodynes
'painkillers' is the definition.
('anodyne' can be a synonym of 'painkiller')
'bland small' is the wordplay.
'bland' becomes 'anodyne' (I've seen this before).
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'anodyne'+'s'='ANODYNES'
(Other definitions for anodynes that I've seen before include "Painkillers" , "They relieve pain" .)