A
rise in the dangerous side effects from antidepressants has heightened
public concerns, however sales of the drugs have continued to escalate.
Questions regarding the safety of the popular antidepressant Paxil
were raised after a study revealed that one of its side effects was
an increased risk of suicide.
After some hesitation the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
finally requested that the producers of 10 antidepressants issue
warnings to both doctors and patients informing them of the associated
suicide and worsening depression risks.
As a result of the negative news, more and more disturbing disclosures
about antidepressants were uncovered. Some of the disclosures included
the FDA’s decision to ignore negative findings from drug studies
on antidepressants and the way the FDA dragged their feet regarding
recommendations to place warning labels on antidepressants, out
of fear the actions would leave pharmaceutical companies open to
possible liability troubles.
Despite the negative publicity, antidepressants sales have continued
to rise, particularly among children and adolescents, where there
was a reported increase of 10 percent a year.
Even more startling was the fact that the largest growth spurt
in antidepressant use was among preschoolers. Other statistics showed
antidepressants sales reaching the total of 37 billion in sales
in 2003, which came out to $9 million more than was spent on treatments
for the heart, arteries and blood pressure.
City
Pages.com May 26, 2004