Comments: Child, Teen Anti-Depressant Use Quadruples In UK
I admit to being flummoxed by this as I thought there was a ban on prescribing these to under 18s in the U.K., except maybe for Prozac, but then I thought Lilly themselves put a warning on to be consistent with other SSRIs. I guess a ban isn't enforceable and maybe it has no legal or liability consequences if ignored but you would still think it would discourage use. Any English readers of this blog know anything I don't know?
Posted by Sara at July 23, 2007 11:20 AM
Actually, if you check the table that I have produced from the Government's data, you can see that the real problem is not antidepressants but behaviour control drugs, use of which over the last decade has increased almost ten-fold among under-16s and almost twenty-fold among 16-18 year olds in full-time education. [See The Difference: Our Orwellian State]
Posted by John Hayward, The Difference at July 23, 2007 11:48 AM
Hey, great table and good information, John Hayward. Thank you. That clarifies things a bit -- it's really the stimulants that are increasing dramatically. No real surprise there. I call them steroids for the brain. They work unfortunately and parents and students alike are enamored of them but if they only knew the price that's coming down the road. Like the other steroids, they aren't good for you. Here's a program from Britain that is trying to make inroads and stop this crazy trend. http://www.foodforthebrain.org
Posted by Sara at July 23, 2007 01:12 PM