(NaturalNews) A Swedish writer has accused the National Board of Health and Welfare (NBHW) of covering up evidence suggesting a connection between psychiatric drugs and suicide. Under a recent law, Swedish health-care providers must fill out reports on all suicides committed by patients under their care or within four weeks of a health care visit. The reports are then sent to the NBHW, which compiles and analyzes them.
Recently, the NBHW released the first report analyzing the 367 suicides recorded in 2006. "Not a single word is written about the most compelling fact: Well over 80 percent of persons killing themselves were treated with
psychiatric drugs," Janne Larson writes.
According to data received via a Freedom of Information Act request, more than 80 percent of the 367
suicides had been receiving psychiatric
medications. More than half of these were receiving
antidepressants, while more than 60 percent were receiving either antidepressants or
antipsychotics. There is no mention of this either in the NBHW paper or in major Swedish media reports about the
health care suicides.
Why the truth won't be reported in the mainstream media
"It was contrary to the best interests of
Big Pharma and biological psychiatrists" to expose the
information, Larson writes. "It blew the myths of antidepressants and neuroleptics [antipsychotics] as
suicide protecting drugs to pieces. It would also have hurt the career of many medical journalists to take up this subject; journalists who for years have made their living by writing marketing articles about new
antidepressant drugs."
These statements are quite true. The conspiracy of silence between Big Pharma and the mainstream media is now so strong that accurate news about the dangers of psychiatric
drugs is rarely reported. As we recently saw in the death of Heath Ledger, the mainstream media is quick to blame the victim, but slow to realize that the real cause of these behavioral problems rests with the chemicals that alter brain function (and therefore alter
behavior).
Evidence has emerged that a class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (
SSRIs) actually increases the
risk of suicide in those who take them. While such claims have been hotly disputed by the pharmaceutical industry and many psychiatrists, experimental, epidemiological and case study
evidence continues to emerge that reinforces such a link. The evidence suggests that those taking SSRIs are approximately twice as likely to commit suicide as those not taking such medications. This
risk increase appears to be independent of the specific diagnosis or other underlying
health factors.
Even worse, recent research published in the peer-reviewed journal
PLoS Medicine (see
http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.13...) reveals that antidepressant drugs don't work any better than placebo at reducing
depression. This study looked at all the clinical trials conducted on SSRIs, not just the ones selected by drug
companies for publication. It reveals that
SSRI drug manufacturers committed scientific fraud in censoring studies that did not show positive results. Now, the whole world knows that the disease mongering and hype behind antidepressant drugs was based on pure scientific fraud.
Links between SSRIs and suicide
The link between SSRI use and suicide in youths has been firmly established enough that the
United States and United Kingdom have licensed only one such
drug (fluoxetine, marketed under the brand name
Prozac) for use by those under the age of 18. In the United Kingdom, off-label use by
children is blatantly illegal. In the United States,
the FDA requires a "black box" warning that SSRIs may increase the risk of suicide in those under the age of 18, but that warning is routinely ignored, and hundreds of millions of doses of Prozac have been taken by children and teens.
A "black box" warning is the most severe warning the
FDA can issue without withdrawing a product from the market. In December 2006, an FDA advisory panel recommended increasing the age on the SSRI
black box warning to 25 years of age. In reality, the black box warning is a way for the FDA to allow dangerous drugs to remain on the market: It gives them an excuse to say, "We warned you!"
The dangers of Prozac
Prozac has been found to increase the risk of aggressive and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. When the drug was first submitted to the FDA for approval in 1985, the agency's then-chief safety investigator, Richard Kapit, suggested that the drug bear a "labeling warning [for] the physician that such signs and
symptoms of depression may be exacerbated by this drug." In 2004, the FDA finally added the labeling requirement.
Antipsychotics may also increase suicide risk by inducing a condition known as akathisia — a subjective, often-misdiagnosed feeling of inner restlessness that can range from mild anxiety to a feeling of overwhelming doom. Akathisia can also be induced by certain SSRIs, including Prozac and Paxil. A 2006 study published in
PLoS Medicine concluded that akathisia induced by antipsychotic use is significantly correlated with suicide, and that the condition appeared to be overwhelmingly more likely in
patients taking SSRIs than in those taking a
placebo, with 10 times as many patients on SSRIs exhibiting symptoms severe enough that investigators were forced to pull them from the study.
Yet Larson alleges that the Swedish
government has failed to investigate any potential link between SSRIs or antipsychotics and suicide. The
investigation form that the government sends to local healthcare providers to fill out after a suicide does not contain any questions about drug treatment.
According to Larson, a truly objective investigation would have to look at whether the patients exhibited symptoms that could be attributed to akathisia (which is nearly always a drug side effect) and whether suicide was preceded by an increase or abrupt drop in drug dosage.
"[NBHW] claimed: 'Every investigated suicide where one can see flaws that can be taken care of, can contribute to the prevention of further suicides,'" Larson writes. "Yet no investigation at all was done in the suicide-inducing effect of antidepressants and neuroleptics."
Suicides and violent behavior
It is important to note that nearly every
school shooting that has happened in the United States over the last decade has been conducted by young males who were taking antidepressant drugs. The drugs not only cause suicidal behavior, they also seem to promote extreme
violence towards other individuals. In most school shooting cases, the young men committing the violence also committed suicide after killing classmates and teachers. These are classic signs of antidepressant use.
Dr. Fred Baughman (
www.ADHDfraud.org) has spoken extensively about the link between antidepressants and violent behavior, and has accused the drug companies of lying to the public about depression in order to sell more antidepressant drugs. His most recent
article is published at OpEdNews:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_fred_bau_080219_northern_illinois...See more
NaturalNews articles on antidepressant drugs at:
http://www.naturalnews.com/antidepressants.html
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health author and award-winning journalist with a passion for sharing empowering information to help improve personal and planetary health He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, 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 2010, Adams launched NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video site featuring videos on holistic health and green living. 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 a noted pioneer in the email marketing software industry, having been the first to launch an HTML email newsletter technology that has grown to become a standard in the industry. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training. Known as the 'Health Ranger,' Adams' personal health statistics and mission statements are located at www.HealthRanger.org
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Thursday, February 28, 2008
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