When a major study reveals that antidepressant drugs
quadruple a person's risk of committing suicide, and when that study is backed by an analysis of three million patient records covering four SSRIs like Paxil and Prozac, a reasonable person can only draw one conclusion: these drugs tend to cause people to commit suicide. The research shows it: a 400% increase across the board.
But some journalists don't see it that way. This news story from the AFP syndicated news service headlines with, "No increased suicide risk seen with SSRIs: study." The rest of this highly-selective story goes on to explain that since all four antidepressants were equal in their increased risk of suicides, there is "no increased risk." Funny math, huh? The story wholly fails to mention the 400% increase in suicides found for all four antidepressant drugs.
The purpose of this sort of journalism is, of course, to mislead readers and make them think that SSRIs are perfectly safe. It isn't really journalism, actually: it's just an infomercial for the drug companies and a blatant attempt to spin news in a way that distorts the truth. Sadly, this is becoming standard fare in the popular press these days.
A reasonable person can only wonder who's behind this particular story. Was the journalist bought off by the drug companies? Is the wire service partially owned by a major pharmaceutical company? Are drug companies big advertisers on their content network? What's the financial relationship that could cause a journalist to concoct such a distorted story that grossly misleads readers?
I don't have the answers to these questions, but there's little doubt that if you follow the money, you'll find the answers.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health author and award-winning journalist with a mission to teach personal and planetary health to the public He has authored and published thousands of articles, interviews, consumers guides, and books on topics like health and the environment, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In mid 2010, Adams produced NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video sharing website offering user-generated videos on nutrition, green living, fitness and more. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also the founder of a well known HTML email software company whose 'Email Marketing Director' software currently runs the NaturalNews subscription database. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and practices nature photography, Capoeira, martial arts and organic gardening. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org
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Thursday, July 22, 2004
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