Posts Tagged ‘Concerta’

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Note to all press running “ADHD linked to depression/suicide” study—its bogus

Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

by CCHR International

A cursory look at the study purporting that “ADHD in Children Linked to Depression and Higher Suicide Risk” revealed its obvious and glaring flaws, and we are forced to ask why so-called medical websites such as WebMD or Medical News Today were unable to accomplish what took us about ½ hour to uncover—what was clearly omitted from this “study.”

The study claims that “Children who are diagnosed with ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) have a higher chance of developing  depression and/or attempting suicide during their teenage years, or 5 to 13 years after being diagnosed, say researchers in a new article published in Archives of General Psychiatry..”

Why none of the press or medical websites are questioning what drugs the “ADHD” children in this study were already taking and what effect this could have on developing depression or suicidality…. we leave to the reader.   But this is fact; the stimulant drugs such as  Ritalin, Concerta, Adderall, etc, that are prescribed to children diagnosed with  “ADHD” have been documented by the FDA to have side effects including hallucinations, delusional thinking, mania, psychosis, aggression, violence, hostility, drug dependence and suicide and depression. The documented side effects and international drug regulatory warnings on these drugs (including withdrawal) can be found here: http://www.cchrint.org/psychdrugdangers/drug_warnings.php

The study itself reveals that the “ADHD” children being studied were from Pittsburgh and Chicago—and this key fact; all the “ADHD” children from Chicago  were recruited from a child psychiatric clinic and  42% of the “ADHD” children from Pittsburgh were also recruited from a psychiatric clinic.

The fact that the children diagnosed ADHD were recruited from psychiatric clinics nearly guarantees they were already taking psychiatric drugs or minimally had been on these drugs at some point to “treat” their ADHD diagnoses.   Moreover,  those “ADHD” children in the study who the researchers claim “developed depression,” not only should we know whether they were already on stimulant drugs which caused these side effects, but also if they were subsequently prescribed antidepressants to “treat” the depression,  considering antidepressants carry black box warnings for suicidality and also are known to cause worsening depression.

The main issue here is why none of those publishing and thereby promoting the content of this study as factual bothered to pose these simple, logical questions, or read the study themselves before passing it on as factual, potentially influencing the public at large with something that could effect their lives or the lives of their children.

As a side note…Two of the listed study authors are:

Dr. Andrea Chronis-Tuscano,  has received research support and honoraria from McNeil Pediatrics.  McNeil Pediatrics  is a division of Ortho-McNeil Janssen pharmaceuticals Inc which sells Concerta.

Dr. William E.  Pelham has received research support from Eli Lilly and honoraria from Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

And that, is the story that isn’t being told.

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Prescription drug use widespread, dangerous

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

Comment from CCHR:  Psycho/Pharma and the press will frequently cite the dangers of illicit use of  prescription drugs like Ritalin, Adderall or Concerta as “dangerous” or “risky” when taken by kids/students that don’t have “ADHD.”  This is a ludicrous statement for two reasons; The first is that the US DEA classifies Ritalin and other “ADHD drugs” as schedule ll drugs, meaning they have the highest potential for abuse, no matter who is taking them— whether someone has been diagnosed ADHD or not is irrelevant.    Secondly, the international warnings on these stimulants causing stunted growth, mania, future drug dependence, heart attack, stroke and sudden death also apply to anyone taking the drugs—again, regardless of  whether they’ve been diagnosed “ADHD” or not.   Considering there is no  verifiable medical condition of “ADHD”  or “ADD,”  and considering that the drugs therefore are not medically “correcting” any verifiable physical abnormality—children and students are simply being prescribed legal drugs that rival the side effects of street drugs.  Period.

RedandBlack.com

By Michael Prochaska, September 13, 2010

The abuse of prescription drugs is one of college campuses’ best kept secrets.

Pharmaceutical pills don’t require a wet towel under a door, open windows or even mellow neighbors. A single pop and it’s as if that pill had never existed.

With more than 50 million teenagers diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, it’s a painless effort to find a friend who can supply.

Zak Vaudo, a junior from Marietta and former Adderall consumer, was one of those kids.

“Adderall definitely helped me focus,” said Vaudo, who was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder at the age of eight. “It also did a bunch of things I wasn’t very fond of but it definitely helped me focus.”

Vaudo was on Adderall for eight years and although he was left unbothered by illegal drug users in high school, Vaudo said there would be a demand at the University if he still used Adderall.

“Given the number of people that I have become friends and acquaintances with at the University of Georgia, at least one of them would want to use it,” he said.

Brianna Riley, a senior public relations major from Marietta, witnessed first-hand the effects of abusing Adderall when her friends began taking it as a diet pill.

She said that when her friends were taking the drug, they behaved far differently than they normally did.

“When they are on it, they’re kind of cracked out — like they’re really hyper, and also they lose their appetite,” Riley said. “They wouldn’t eat for like a day.”

Though some students abuse Adderall in order to help them lose weight, other students may use the drug in order to help out with studying and academics.

“I’ve had a few friends who used them for studying,” said Philip Brettschneider, a fourth year anthropology major from Marietta. “They improve your memory.  They improve your concentration. It’s similar to drinking coffee beforehand — just a little more potent.”

Despite good intentions and beneficial results, Adderall is still dangerous and illegal without the authorization of a doctor.

“We know there has been this concept on campus in general on using Adderall, methamphetamine and all the drugs for ADHD,” said pharmacy professor Randall Tackett. “The students look at them as being pretty innocuous because everybody takes them. We’re concerned because the number one group of drugs being used is prescription drugs.”

Even though prescription drug abuse may be widespread, Tackett said it’s difficult to spot.

“The problem we’re seeing is that we have people that are abusing prescription drugs — they don’t make the paper as much because we see a lot of people that are borrowing medications from people,” he said.

University Police Chief Jimmy Williamson said the campus police do not categorize prescription drug abuse in their drug arrest records. Therefore, there are no available statistics on how many University students abuse pharmaceutical drugs.

A concern for students’ safety is one reason Tackett lectures on drug abuse. Drugs used to treat ADHD such as Ritalin contain ingredients used in crystal meth. They also significantly increase blood pressure and carry the risk of heart failure.

Kevin O’Brien, a graduate student in the department of psychology, was awoken one night several years ago by a friend frantically asking for help after her boyfriend had taken a large dosage of Adderall during a study session.

“He was at risk for heart failure because of [a] congenital birth defect,” he said.

Mike Friedline, a drug and alcohol counselor at the University Health Center, has more experience counseling students abusing Xanax and OxyContin, but said a number of patients admit to using Adderall for studying.

“It is very stressful to repeatedly put off studying until the last minute,” Friedline said. “So rather than relieving stress, non-prescription Adderall use just increases stress. Rather than enhancing performance, Adderall and other stimulants just enable sloppy performance. That’s hard to see when someone uses Adderall and then makes a good test grade, but they would learn more, retain more and feel less stress just by using better studying skills.”

Though health experts claim sleep and exercise to be fundamental in achieving good grades, a new company called PROFIDERALL has developed a drug and advertising campaign targeted at students.

http://www.redandblack.com/2010/09/13/prescription-drug-use-widespread-dangerous/

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Psychiatric Meds 101: A Surprising Discovery – Your Own Personal Hell

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

Mouse over image and click to see next slide. To copy/post slideshow use the embed code at bottom of page.

By Shane “The People’s Chemist” Ellison
Author, Over-The-Counter Natural Cures

I may be a perfect candidate for psychiatry.

I ask questions with period marks to shorten conversations. I avoid eye contact with strangers in fear (maybe it’s anxiety) that I might learn too much about them. I secretly think that Metallica would be making better music if they went back to bludgeoning themselves with party drugs and alcohol, instead of “therapy.” I’m trying to master the Law of Un-attraction to shield myself from a “real job,” small homes and junky cars.  And, I’m constantly giving my children advice, only to give it to myself.

Psychiatry, can your drugs help me?

Perhaps these questions are what motivated me to pursue a career as a drug design chemist, winning multiple awards for my work. Nothing gets me more excited than drugs and how they affect the body (except my wife’s abs). I’ve studied their molecular anatomy, risked life and limb to mix and match explosive chemicals in a round bottom flask, and even sold my soul to Big Pharma in exchange for a lab bench and chemical hood.

During this time, I’ve made some surprising discoveries about psychiatric meds, which include antidepressants, antipsychotics, stimulants, and anti-anxiety drugs. Understanding what I’ve learned will protect you from the flood of side effects that are now being discovered at breakneck speeds, courtesy of the myriad of patients being prescribed psychiatric drugs in the name of mental health.

Your Own Personal Hell

Antidepressants strive to increase the levels of a “coping” molecule known as serotonin in the brain. It supposedly helps us find happiness when it’s covered in an avalanche of nastiness. But, it’s never been proven. Still, the drugs attempt to boost serotonin by “selectively” stopping the “reuptake” among brain cells. This is where the whole SSRI acronym came from—“selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.” It’s a slick name, but a stupid idea. Nothing is selective in the body.

While trying to block the reuptake of serotonin, antidepressants can also prevent its release and that of another brain compound known as dopamine. The areas of the brain responsible for release and reuptake of these neurotransmitters are so damn similar (after all, they work on the same molecule) that an antidepressant drug isn’t smart enough to understand which one it is supposed to work on. So it does what any dumb drug would do, it blocks both. That’s why users usually carry a glassy stare in their eye. Fully under the psychiatric spell, they’ve tuned out.

Deep sadness, fear, anger and aggression can set in over time. By removing serotonin and dopamine from the brain, long-term antidepressant users can’t find or feel happiness. Instead, they may become buried in the avalanche of nastiness. And if you can’t find or feel happiness in life, what’s the point? What’s going to stop you from snapping your own neck or spraying bullets on your classmates? Not much when you live in your own personal antidepressant hell.

Think this is all opinion?

According to the FDA, antidepressants can cause suicidal thoughts and behavior, worsening depression, anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, irritability, hostility, impulsivity, aggression, psychotic episodes and violence.  Some even cause homicidal ideation according to the manufacturers. Many long-term antidepressant users will tell you they no longer feel normal emotions—they’re numb, like zombies.

But the side effects of these drugs aren’t limited to hijacking your feelings and emotional state, causing violent and psychotic states. Physical side effects occur too and include abnormal bleeding, birth defects, heart attack, seizures and sudden death. Over one hundred and seventy drug regulatory warnings and studies have been issued on antidepressants, to sound the alarm on these side effects.

For Elephant Use Only

Psychiatrists prescribe antipsychotic meds such as Zyprexa and Seroquel, for anything from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, delusional disorder, psychotic depression, autism or anything else they can think of, even “pervasive developmental disorder,” which is perfect for boosting sales because it targets children who suffer from irritability, aggression, and agitation. It’s a shame ‘cause these drugs are good for nothing but sedating irate elephants, not curing psychiatric disease.

According to a study published in Psychological Medicine, antipsychotic drugs cause brains to shrink – they lessen brain matter and volume. Originally designed for those deemed “schizophrenic,” the drug companies came up with a brilliant marketing campaign to sell these drugs to a much wider market—unsatisfied antidepressant users. You’ve probably seen the ads—if your “depression medication” isn’t working, then don’t blame the drug; you may just have bipolar disorder!

Once swallowed, antipsychotics sail through the blood stream where they’re carried to the brain. Like a giant oil spill, antipsychotics cover the brain in a medicinal slick, where brain wave transmission is blocked. Users become devoid of normal brain activity. Motivation, drive and feelings of reward are shunted. If psychiatry considers this a “treatment,” they’re the crazy ones.

If you’ve ever seen someone who has suffered from the “spill” courtesy of following doctors orders, you can’t mistake one of the most common side effects, it’s called Akathisia. Involuntary movements, tics, jerks in the face and the entire body can become permanent side effects for antipsychotic users.

Antipsychotics also cause obesity, diabetes, stroke, cardiac events, respiratory problems, delusional thinking and psychosis. Drug regulators from the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa warn that they can also lead to death. I wouldn’t be surprised if psychiatrists considered this a cure…

Use This to Jump The Grand Canyon

If you’re going to attempt to jump your scooter over the Grand Canyon, or ride your snowboard off Kilimanjaro, stimulants are great. They flood the brain with dopamine and trigger an inhuman surge of adrenaline, responsible for making you believe life is grand, despite eminent death. Outside of that, you’re either a speed freak, a college student trying to learn an entire semester of Biology 101 in 4 hours, or a fifth grader “following doctor’s orders.”

Top stimulants being prescribed today are nothing more than a mix of amphetamines packaged into trade names like Adderall, Dexedrine and Ritalin.  Street thugs sell it as meth, poor man’s cocaine, crystal, ice, glass and speed. It’s no wonder kids are now abusing Ritalin, Adderall and these drugs more than street drugs, they’re cheaper to get and they’re “legal,” hence the term kiddie cocaine.

Even the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) categorizes Ritalin in the Schedule ll category, meaning a high potential for abuse—just like cocaine and morphine. All of them have the same effects regardless of how they’re named: Central nervous system overload leading to heart attack and/or heart failure. And kids are dropping faster than Meth Heads at Raves…

I’m not exaggerating.

Eleven international drug regulatory agencies and our own FDA has issued warnings that stimulants like Ritalin cause addiction, depression, insomnia, drug dependence, mania, psychosis, heart problems, stroke and sudden death.

 Bash Your Head in with Anti-Anxiety Drugs

If you’re not man enough for a drug that could sedate an elephant like antipsychotics, then psychiatrists will prescribe anti-anxiety meds, particularly benzodiazepines. Choosing between the two is akin to deciding whether or not you should be hit in the head with an aluminum bat or a wooden one; anti-anxiety meds being the latter.

Discovered in the stinky chemistry labs of Hoffman La Roche in 1955, anti-anxiety meds aim to trigger sleep receptors in the brain, just slightly. So, rather than being riddled with anxiety, you are put to sleep, halfway. It’s “treatment,” and psychiatrists have been “practicing it for decades.” But, it has yet to work, because drugging your problems away is more dangerous than anxiety. The use of anti-anxiety meds is coupled with a host of nasty side effects such as seizures, aggression and violence once the drug wears off. Hallucinations, delusional thinking, confusion, abnormal behavior, hostility, agitation, irritability, depression and suicidal thinking are all possible outcomes according to Big Pharma’s heavily guarded research papers.

Getting off the drugs could be harder than abandoning a heroin addiction. Some have described withdrawal from “benzos” being akin to pulling hundreds of fish hooks out of their skin, without anesthesia. If you doubt their addictive nature, go to Google search and type in a few of the leading anti-anxiety drugs like Klonopin or Xanax and here is what you’ll find:

“Klonopin withdrawal” 1,860,000 results

“Xanax withdrawal” 1,980,000 results

Exposing Psychiatry: How to Get The Truth

In total, the side effects of psychiatric meds spread far and wide. And most are hidden from patients and doctors alike. Fortunately, Citizens Commission on Human Rights has solved this problem with a state-of-the-art database that allows people to search through the adverse reaction reports sent to the FDA on psychiatric drugs. It also provides international drug regulatory agency warnings and studies published on the side effects of the drugs.

So, can psychiatry help me? No. And that’s surprising because psychiatric meds are some of the biggest selling drugs, poised to seal the hopes and dreams of millions.  Regardless of what mental state I might be in (or anyone else for that matter), there is not a single drug that cures, treats or solves the perceived problems of mental health.

While people can suffer miserably from emotional or mental duress that can hinder their lifestyle, the pseudo-science of psychiatry has yet to solve any of these problems, and in fact only contributes to poor health as seen by the wide array of side effects. Marketing campaigns and ghostwritten medical journals are designed to obscure these facts. But the psychiatric drug side effect database courtesy of CCHR ensures that all patients have access to the truth, to the documented facts, which could save their life or that of a loved one.

 About the Author

Shane Ellison holds a masters degree in organic chemistry and is the author of Over-The-Counter Natural Cures.  An award winning chemist, he has been quoted by USA Today, Shape, Woman’s World, as well as Women’s Health and appeared on Fox and NBC as a natural medicine advocate.  Sample his book free at www.thepeopleschemist.com

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The Daily Mail: What does it say about our school system when teachers try to control unruly pupils with drugs?

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

The Daily Mail
By Rowenna Davis
May 12, 2010

Leon Perry is in trouble for insulting his teacher. Fidgeting on a chair in the assistant head’s office of Queen’s Park Community School in North London, the 13-year-old admits he’d skipped his medication.

‘I can get a bit hyperactive when I come off,’ he says. ‘I’ll be honest, I can be violent. When I’m on my tablet, I think before I act; when I’m off, I think after. If teachers get on my nerves, I’ll say what I want. When I’m on my tablet, I can’t be bothered.’

Leon has been taking Ritalin  -  known as the ‘chemical cosh’  -  since he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when he was six.

He’s not alone. According to data obtained under Freedom of Information legislation, there has been a 65 per cent increase in spending on drugs to treat ADHD over the past four years. Such treatments now cost the taxpayer more than £31million a year.

The figures do not include private prescriptions, and may include some sufferers of narcolepsy as well as adult ADHD sufferers, but these are only a tiny minority.

With such a huge increase in figures, a growing number of academics are raising concerns that some teachers are either recommending these drugs as an easy alternative to dealing with bad behaviour, or simply turning a blind eye to those on medication when they should be investigating the root cause of their problems. In the worst cases, schools have been known to put significant pressure on students or their parents to seek the medication.

Take Leon. He insists he didn’t want to start taking Ritalin. His mum didn’t want him to, either. It was his junior school that gave him an ultimatum: go on the drug or leave the school. Seven years later, he relies on Concerta Exel  -  a slow-release form of Ritalin  -  to control his moods.

‘I know it helps me in some ways, but I hate taking it,’ he says, ‘There are days when I deliberately avoid it. You just don’t feel yourself, you feel so drained out. It makes you feel disgusted and down. Like you’ve got no soul or something. My mum doesn’t want me to take it, but what can she do? She wants me to get an education.’

The drugs most frequently prescribed for ADHD patients are atomoxetine, dexamfetamine and methylphenidate 3  -  the last most commonly known by the brand name Ritalin.

Read entire article:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1277674/Ritalin-used-control-unruly-pupils.html

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Disease Mongering on Adult ADHD: Just another way to sell Speed (aka Ritalin, Concerta, Adderall)

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

GoozNews
April 6, 2010

Do you have ADHD? Take this quiz (courtesy of this morning’s Wall Street Journal) to find out. If you’re like me, you may discover that you do. Of course, you may want to ask yourself this question after taking the quiz: Who isn’t easily distracted; doesn’t allow their mind to wander during boring conversations; or doesn’t engage in endless multi-tasking while leaving many projects unfinished?

The accompanying article claims that 10 million Americans suffer from this “disease,” yet only a quarter are diagnosed. Is there a pill for this disorder? You bet there is. It’s called speed when sold on street corners. The pharmaceutical industry gives them other names, like Strattera, Ritalin, Concerta.

Just when economists from the left and right are joining together to encourage Americans to slow down and share the work to cope with unemployment (see this op-ed by Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and Kevin Hassett of the American Enterprise Institute in the Los Angeles Times), Rupert Murdoch’s daily chronicle of the American dream suggests we buckle down, stay focused and work harder than ever.

While the quiz cautions against self-analysis, I was left wondering: Who was the psychiatrist behind this medicalization of our collective social dysfunction? A quick Google search of Ivan K. Goldberg in New York City turns up a few flattering posts on Daniel Carlat’s blog (Goldberg turned down a Schering-Plough offer to become a shill), but also this curious link.

Read entire article:  http://www.gooznews.com/node/3316

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Confidential report reveals: Big Pharma trying to stop long-term safety studies of ADHD drugs

Friday, March 5th, 2010

TransWorldNews
By Janne Larsson
March 5, 2010

The companies producing methylphenidate products (like Ritalin and Concerta) are normally competitors, marketing ADHD as a disease and the narcotic drugs as its solution. But when they are threatened with marketing restrictions they have a common interest.

If more scientific long-term studies would be done showing the harmful effects of the drugs it could lead to withdrawal from the market of this class of drugs. Therefore Big Pharma has to stop all such studies not written and controlled by themselves. The only studies they support are those conducted by paid researchers like psychiatry professors Joseph Biederman, Timothy Wilens and Thomas Spencer, where the outcome is known already from the beginning.

The European Commission has 27 May 2009, after a long review by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), decided to issue warnings about methylphenidate drugs. The Commission has also decided that a number of long-term studies of good quality should be done to investigate different harmful effects of these drugs.

So for example the manufacturers were ordered to submit data how they could do long-term studies of psychiatric adverse effects (e.g. depression, hostility and psychotic reactions) and of cognitive effects (effects on learning, intellectual function) of the drugs. The answer from the pharmaceutical companies was a confidential report Feasibility Assessment of a Study of Long-term Effects of Methylphenidate on Cognition and Psychiatric Outcomes written 30 October 2009 – now made public by a Swedish court.

Read entire article:  http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?StoryID=244733

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UN Children’s Rights Committee Has “Serious Concerns” About Kids Being Drugged With Ritalin & Other Psychostimulants

Friday, February 12th, 2010

By CCHR Int
February 12, 2010

On January 29, 2010, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) issued a formal statement that it is “seriously concerned about studies that indicate the rapid increase within a short period of time of the prescription of psycho-stimulants such as Ritalin and Concerta to children diagnosed with ADHD.”[1]

The Committee met in Geneva to review Norway’s implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and was responding to the 10-fold increase in psychostimulants prescribed children in the country between 1991 and 2003 and a further 70% since 2004.  Big Pharma has been reaping the profits from this—sales of psychostimulants increased more than 4,000% during the last decade. It was the third Nordic country the Committee had investigated for its psychiatric drugging of children.

Norwegian government delegates, including the Minister of Children, Audun Lyskbakken, and representatives of the Department of Health were strongly questioned about the potential abuse of children with powerful stimulants.  In a twitter message from the hearing the Norway’s Ombudsman for children said Minister Lyskbakken was questioned about the soaring Ritalin usage and whether children’s diets may be the source of “ADHD” symptoms resulting in prescriptions for stimulants. The Minister conceded, “There is room for improvement.”[2] The Norwegian Minister of Children also told the hearing that two studies are being conducted to establish the effectiveness of Omega 3 oils on the symptoms of “ADHD” and that medication should only be a last resort.

This is a step in the right direction of cocaine-like stimulants (that can cause psychosis, heart attacks and strokes) being prohibited for use in children, especially when there are safe non-drug alternatives.

Media reports on the CRC hearing and recommendations noted that expert testimony discussed evidence that diet is linked to behavior problems and questioned how Norway’s schools were tackling this. [3]

The CRC recommended that the government “carefully examine” the “phenomenon of over-prescription of psycho-stimulants to children” and to take initiatives to provide children with a greater range of educational and treatment options.

In 2005, the CRC completed a review of the implementation of human rights standards for children and issued a strong warning then to the governments that so-called ADHD and ADD are being misdiagnosed and that psychostimulant drugs are being over-prescribed, despite growing evidence of the harmful effects of these drugs.[4]

[1] UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Committee on the Rights of the Child, “Main areas of concern and recommendations; Basic health and welfare, points 42 & 43.) 29 Jan, 2010.

[2] http://www.morsmal.org/cgi-bin/index.cgi?action=viewnews&id=1460

[3] United Nations, Committee on Rights of Child Examines Report of Norway, 21 Jan. 2010.

[4] “Considerations of reports under article 44 of the convention—Concluding observations: Finland,” UN Committee of the Rights of the Child, CRC/C/15/Add.272, 20 Oct. 2005, p. 7; “Considerations of reports under article 44 of the convention—Concluding observations: Denmark,” UN Committee of the Rights of the Child, CRC/C/DNK/CO/3, 25 Nov. 2005, p. 8.

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Pharma’s Drug Ads: From Million Dollar TV Ads to $1.7 Billion Internet Marketing Campaign

Monday, November 16th, 2009

November 16, 2009

On November 13th, 2009, Pharmaceutical companies flocked to a two-day FDA hearing into online drug advertising, which could influence their use of social media on the net. 1 Already, the explosive growth in online advertising has intensified public concerns: the pharmaceutical industry spent more than $1 billion on Internet ads last year and is projected to spend $1.7 billion on such marketing efforts in 2012, according to the Direct Marketing Association.2

Both Eli Lilly and Merck have received warning letters this year from the FDA accusing them of misleading online advertisements.3 But while the FDA scrambles to monitor online ads, who monitors the psychiatric-pharmaceutical industry’s use of front groups to indirectly market their products?

A Washington Post article of June 16, 2009 reported that an increasing number of pharmaceutical firms are turning to social media tools, such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and MySpace, to market their products.  It cites how a community site sponsored by drugmaker McNeil called “ADHD Allies”—aimed at adults with ADHD—was established and offered an online podcast on financial advice and an “ADHD self-assessment tool.”4

British psychiatrist Joanne Moncrieff explains how this ultimately increases drug sales because only a biomedical approach is promoted: “Drug companies…provide funds for pro drug patient and carer groups and address advertising or disease promotion campaigns to the general public…This influence has helped to create and reinforce a narrow biological approach to the explanation and treatment of mental disorders and has led to the exclusion of alternative” treatments.5

Such websites do not mention company’s product but rather market the “disease.” In advertising, it can be accomplished through a strategy known as “condition branding,” where “mental illness” can be pitched just like cars, beer or laundry detergent.  Witness the brand name “bipolar” and “social anxiety disorder” that drug companies marketed at a fever pitch.

John Read, PhD, Psychology Department, University of Auckland did an analysis of 54 random “advocacy” groups for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) through the Internet. The results, published in the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation this year, found 42% of the websites received drug company funding. The researchers found:

  • “Patients tend to trust these organizations to act in an unbiased manner” but as earlier researchers argued in some cases “patient organizations have become a mouthpiece for the pharmaceutical industry in influencing regulatory authorities.”
  • “Drug company influence within the area of mental health is prevalent and now extends to the Internet. This influence is not always transparent. This study suggests that drug company sponsorship of websites leads to a greater emphasis on pharmacology in the treatment of PTSD,” Dr. Read’s report concludes.6

ADHD Allies/ADHD Moms

In June 2008 Concerta was given an expanded indication by FDA and is now indicated for patients aged 6 to 65.7 In July 2008, McNeill Pediatrics—a subsidiary of Ortho-McNeill Pharmaceuticals—launched what they called an “unbranded group” called “ADHD Moms.” ADHD Moms markets the trademarked name “Mom-bassadors” to get mothers into the Facebook page. 8

  • McNeill spuriously claims “the group is not product-specific, nor are there any advertisements for the company’s ADHD drug Concerta (methylphenidate).” Well not directly, but providing material for the site is a Dr. Quinn, a paid consultant and speaker for McNeil Pediatrics. 9 April White, who also provides content is a paid spokesperson for McNeil Pediatrics.10
  • On April 22 2009, McNeill launched a second ADHD-focused Facebook page called “ADHD Allies,” this time targeting adults.  The “Allies” are board members of another front group Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA), funded by McNeill.11
  • The pharmaceutical company has trademarked “ADHD Allies” and “ADHD Moms.”  ADHD Allies was responsible for a “2008 Harris Interactive survey of 1,000 adults with ADHD.” Not surprisingly, the survey found the condition significantly affects them. 12

Log onto The Bipolar Journey: Living With Bipolar Depression website and while it does show AstraZeneca on the home page, there’s no mention of its blockbuster antipsychotic drug Seroquel, approved by the FDA in 2006 for “bipolar.”  The site looks like a patient information site providing facts about the “disease” and misleadingly saying that it may be caused by a chemical imbalance—for which there is no evidence.

It refers people to the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) that has received $23 million recently from at least 18 drug companies. The site shows that of 17 cites for the exhibit’s showing in 2009, 12 are conferences or events put on by NAMI.

It also links to The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, a group that received close to $1 million in pharmaceutical company funding in 2007.

According to an August 27 2009 press announcement, AstraZeneca launched its interactive exhibit, endorsed by New York psychiatrist Janet Taylor. The press release does not mention that Dr. Taylor has financial ties to the company.13

In 2005, global sales for Seroquel reached $2.8 billion.  October 20, 2006, company announced Seroquel was FDA approved for bipolar.14 Within a year, sales reached $3 billion and then soared again in 2008 to $4.66 billion.15

By funding social media front groups that talk only about the “disorder,” drug companies can overcome fears of running afoul of FDA regulations that govern drug advertising and “are embracing social networks to help brand and position their companies in a positive light with consumers and practitioners.”  The top 10 drug companies using social media are: Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson, Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca US, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis, Roche, and Merck.16

This post was written by CCHR International.
Coming next from CCHR Int: Psycho Pharma Front Groups

1 “FDA Addresses Drug Ads in Online Social Media,” Red Orbit, 13 Nov. 2009.

3 “FDA Addresses Drug Ads in Online Social Media,” Red Orbit, 13 Nov. 2009.

5 Joanne Moncrief, in a “Study of the Influence of the Pharmaceutical Industry on Academic and Practical Psychiatry,” http://www.critpsynet.freeuk.com/pharmaceuticalindustry.htm

6 http://www.isst-d.org/jtd/mansell_&_read_ptsd_drug_cos_&_internet%20.pdf; Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 10:9–23, 2009

12 “Adults ‘Facing’ ADHD: ADHD Allies™ Offers Unique Online Community for Adults with ADHD on New Facebook® Page,” http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/concerta/36533/

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One of the Pharma funded psychiatrists that spearheaded national child drugging campaign

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Catherine Lewis
Alternative Health Journal
November 9, 2009

Unfortunately it is becoming more and more common to hear reports of how the pharmaceutical industry is manipulating scientific findings and in turn readily handing out prescriptions to children, often unnecessarily. The factor that seems to be driving this trend is very simply the almighty dollar. Keep reading to find out who is responsible for this recent trend, and why your doctor may be getting your child hooked on unnecessary drugs.

There seems to be no choice but for Americans to question the validity of the pharmaceutical-industrial complex and the desire of its leaders to prey on unsuspecting people with the ultimate goal of padding their pockets. It seems that this industry has joined with the mental health profession as well.

Who Is Responsible for Putting Children on Psychiatric Drugs?

When asking the question, “Who is responsible?” there is at least one name that stands out. Dr. Joseph Biederman of Harvard University is a world renowned child psychiatrist.  Biederman has received awards of excellence from both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He is on the editorial board of multiple journals, a reviewer for most of the psychiatric journals, and served as a grant reviewer in the Child Psychopathology and Treatment Review Committee of the NIMH.

Biederman is a very high-profile doctor that spear-headed the outbreak of children on psychiatric drugs. Biederman reportedly received $1.6 million from drug makers between 2000 and 2006. However, he failed to report most of this to his university, which may well have considered this to be a conflict of interest.

Read entire article: http://www.alternativehealthjournal.com/article/why_is_your_doctor_getting_your_child_hooked_on_unnecessary_drugs/3859

And the others: http://www.cchrint.org/cchr-issues/the-corrupt-alliance-of-the-psychiatric-pharmaceutical-industry/

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In UK, Doctors under fire as an alarming numbers of children are given drugs to combat depression and ADHD

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

Jenny Hope
Daily Mail
October 30, 2009

The number of prescriptions being given to children with hyperactivity, depression and other mental health problems has soared over two years, according to new figures.

Over 420,000 prescriptions were issued to children under 16 with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in 2007 – up 33 per cent since 2005.

The number went up 51 per cent for youngsters aged 16-18, reaching 40,000 in 2007.

During this period NHS guidance endorsed at least three drugs for ADHD where other treatments have failed, despite fears about side effects and some critics complaining it medicalises antisocial behaviour.

More than 113,000 prescriptions of antidepressants were issued to children under 16 in 2007, a six per cent increase over two years.

Almost 108,000 antidepressant prescriptions went to 16-18-year-olds, which was unchanged over the period.

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