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Suicide warnings being ignored
Added: (Tue Oct 04 2005)
Despite several warnings about the dangers of psychiatric drugs prescribed to children for the controversial Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), the government’s watchdog is expected to issue guidelines giving doctors and psychiatrists the green light to prescribe drugs reported to cause suicidal thoughts.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has been appraising drugs commonly prescribed for so-called ADHD and is expected to issue its recommendations this month.
The international psychiatric watchdog group, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), sent warnings to NICE at the beginning of September about the stimulant drugs such as Ritalin and Concerta, as well as the new ADHD drug, the antidepressant Strattera which were included in the appraisal.
The warnings were from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US, which warned of suicidal thoughts, aggression, psychotic and violent behaviour associated with stimulant drugs, while a document from the European Medicines Agency said side-effects associated with Strattera included hostility, such as aggression and oppositional behaviour.
Recent reports have claimed ADHD children are “at risk of suicidal thoughts.” Critics however have slammed this as an entirely irresponsible statement, pointing to the recent warnings that the drugs themselves cause the suicidal ideation.
Only last week the UK drug regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), issued a warning that the antidepressant Strattera had been found to increase the risk of suicidal behaviour.
Despite these warnings, NICE is expected to issue guidelines, recommending methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta), atomoxetine (Strattera) and dexamfetamine as treatment options for the management of ADHD in children and adolescents, sending the wrong message to prescribers, said Brian Daniels, national spokesperson for CCHR in the UK.
"Psychiatrists and pharmaceutical-funded support groups rely on the NICE guidelines to justify the use of mind-altering psycho-stimulant drugs for so-called ADHD, a condition that has never been scientifically validated. The notion of a ‘chemical imbalance’ as the source of poor behaviour or learning difficulties is pure pseudoscience.
"Guidance endorsing the use of such powerful psychiatric drugs on young minds is tantamount to child abuse.”
CCHR was established by the Church of Scientology in 1969 to investigate and expose psychiatric violations of human rights.