Our Kids and Stimulants
Today, more than 17 million children worldwide have been prescribed psychiatric drugs so dangerous that medicine regulatory agencies in Europe, Australia and the United States have issued warnings that antidepressants, for example, can cause suicide and hostility in children and adolescents. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also issued a warning that stimulant drugs, such as Ritalin and Concerta can cause suicidal as well as violent, aggressive and psychotic behavior, and that these same drugs can cause heart attacks, stroke and sudden death.
· Of these 17 million, more than 10 million children are in the United States, being prescribed addictive stimulants, antidepressants and other psychotropic (mind-altering) drugs for educational and behavioral problems.
· Today, children 5 years old and younger are the fastest-growing segment of the non-adult population prescribed antidepressants in the U.S. Children as young as 4 have attempted suicide while influenced by such drugs and 5 year olds have committed suicide. Between 1995 and 1999, antidepressant use increased 580% in the under 6 population and 151% in the 7-12 age group. In 2004, the FDA ordered that a “black box” label be placed on antidepressants warning that they can cause suicide in children and adolescents.
The problem is international in scope. In Australia, the stimulant prescription rate for children increased 34-fold in the past two decades. In Mexico, sales of Ritalin increased 800% between 1993 and 2001. In Britain, the stimulant prescription rate for children increased 9,200% between 1992 and 2000. Spain reported a steady 8% annual increase in Ritalin consumption between 1992 and 2001.
It’s an important issue, but I advise extreme scepticism about any information coming from the fightforkids website, seeing as how:
Comment by JohnP — Mon 5th June 2006 @ 10:27 am
JohnP,
What you say is interesting. However, one only needs to look at the money being spent on prescription drugs and who are the big players behind that to see that there is alot of manipulation going on. I could go on for hours but I think going after New Zealand’s leaders is safer.
Thank God we have extremists.
Comment by julie — Mon 5th June 2006 @ 11:19 am
I also want to add that I feel the way I do because I’m anti drugging most problems.
Comment by julie — Mon 5th June 2006 @ 12:50 pm
I agree with you Julie that we are, in some cases, overmedicating.
However, I have to concur with JohnP, it is an important issue, but FightforKids and CCHR are hardly unbiased sources of information.
I would recommend that readers do their own research on the issue and look at multiple sources of information.
Further to JohnP’s statement I would add that CCHR was not only founded by the Church of Scientology but is staffed by scientologists. It has engaged in LEAF (Letters to the Editor Attack Force) campaigns and holds extreme anti-psychiatry and anti-psychology views.
Comment by Anonymous — Wed 26th March 2008 @ 5:01 am