Tag Archives: pills

Does anyone else think this is outrageous? “Glaxo Is Testing Paxil on 7-Year-Olds Despite Well Known Suicide Risks”

It was established years ago that Paxil carries a risk of suicide in children and teens, but GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has for the last 18 months been conducting a study of the antidepressant in kids as young as seven — in Japan. It’s not clear why the company would want to draw more attention to its already controversial pill, but it appears as if GSK might be hoping to see a reduced suicide risk in a small population of users — a result the company could use to cast doubt on the Paxil-equals-teen-suicide meme that dominates discussion of the drug.

The London Times: “Brittany Murphy, Michael Jackson, Heath Legder… America’s fatal addiction to prescription drugs”

The biggest killer drugs in the States right now are legal and have been prescribed. Here’s how easy it is to score and to get hooked. I went to my appointment with “Dr C’ in Los Angeles with a shopping list of the most commonly abused types of drug: pain relievers, tranquillisers, stimulants and sedatives. Beforehand, a local addiction specialist, Bernadine Fried, had briefed me on how to approach your doctor like an addict and still come away with fistfuls of pills.

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

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?

Can a pill cure Bashful? How drug companies turn personality traits into ailments and nations into pill poppers

Ten years ago, if you described shyness or restless legs as a bona fide illness, people would have laughed. But these conditions are just part of an epidemic of newly-invented illnesses sweeping Britain. And we take them so seriously we’re prepared to swallow handfuls of strong and sometimes harmful pills. As the Mail reported yesterday, we have become a nation of pill poppers…