Celebrities Call on FDA to Issue ADHD Drug Warnings Following Reports of Suicide, Psychosis, Heart Attacks and Death of Children

With Death Toll From ADHD Drugs Rising – Children’s Advocates Demand FDA Quit Listening to Vested Drug Interests and Issue “Black Box” Warnings

LOS ANGELES: On February 25th, Kelly Preston, Jenna Elfman (Courting Alex), Anne Archer, Marisol Nichols (Blind Justice), Catherine Bell (JAG) and Jennifer Aspen (Rodney) joined hundreds of human rights activists including medical doctors, psychologists, and parents on the forefront of exposing psychiatric drug risks at the annual awards banquet of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a psychiatric watchdog established by the Church of Scientology.

With more than 8 million American children being prescribed psychiatric drugs with serious and life-threatening side effects, and new reports of ADHD drugs causing heart attacks, strokes and death, children’s advocates say government drug regulators must stop listening to psychiatrists who vehemently promote such drugs as safe and effective, and issue “black box” warnings labels on all ADHD drugs.

The psychiatric drug industry’s influence over the FDA has long been a subject of criticism, given the amount of FDA psychiatrists receiving pharmaceutical funding who are allowed to participate in drug review processes. Reflecting such concerns, U.S. Senator Charles Grassley asked for a complete list of conflict disclosures before an advisory panel to the FDA reviewed the risks of ADHD drugs on February 9th, 2006.

Perhaps due to the Senator spotlighting conflicts of interest, the advisory committee urged the FDA to issue it’s most serious warning label – the black box, for all ADHD drugs due to 51 deaths linked to the drugs. However, the actual death toll appears to be much higher, as documents on record with the FDA, and obtained through Freedom of Information Act by Pediatric Neurologist Fred Baughman Jr., uncovered an additional 160 deaths from ADHD drugs between 1990-1997.

Earlier this year the FDA said it would review the same ADHD drugs for potential to cause hostility, psychosis, mania, hallucinations and suicide, prompting celebrities Kelly Preston and Kirstie Alley to join 100 medical doctors in a joint letter to the FDA demanding it take quick action, to warn the general public. A joint statement from the actors stated, “We can no longer sit back and let the clock tick, waiting for more deaths, suicides or people driven to violent acts by psychotropic drugs. The FDA must continue to be vigilant, to root out other substances that have—one way or the other—slipped under the radar screen, and are now wreaking havoc with the nation’s youth.”

Critics say the multi billion dollar psychiatric drug industry is fighting against further warnings that could plummet drug sales – following a 25% decrease in antidepressant sales for under 18-year-olds after the FDA finally issued black box warnings of suicidal reactions.

CCHR says that psychiatrists have created the multi-billion dollar child drugging industry, putting children’s lives at risk, by fraudulently promoting mental “disorders” such as ADHD as medical conditions requiring dangerous and life-threatening drugs, despite the fact that there are no brain scans, “chemical imbalance” tests, X-Rays or any medical/ scientific evidence to substantiate psychiatric disorders as an illness or disease.

To see the video of the 2006 Thomas Szasz award winner, Jeffrey Schaler's speech at the dinner, click here.

For more information, contact Marla Filidei at 323-467-4242.

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Images available at http://gettyimages.com/

Published: February 26, 2006
Author: Marla Filidei

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