The Antidepressant Scandal - Where Is The Outrage?

How Pharmaceutical Companies Are Suppressing Data About The Effectiveness And Safety Of Antidepressant Drugs While The FDA Looks The Other Way

We are being lied to.  Our health and safety are being compromised by dangerous antidepressant drugs and the wealthy corporate giants that peddle them. 

Just a few weeks ago, an alarming report was released by the acclaimed New England Journal Of Medicine proving once again that the pharmaceutical industry has entirely too much influence in Washington, D.C. and specifically with the Food and Drug Administration.

For the most part the antidepressant scandal has flown under the radar of most Americans.  Perhaps most people missed the story with so much media attention focused on the heated presidential race. 

In short, the report shows the effectiveness of antidepressant drugs has been severely overhyped.  It turns out the pharmaceutical companies that produce antidepressant drugs are publishing the results of only positive clinical trial data in medical journals while suppressing all the negative data.  In cases where negative clinical study data is published, the negative parts are being rewritten to appear positive or simply being omitted altogether.      

This outrageous practice has major implications on our health.  Since doctors rely primarily on this published medical journal data they are getting a skewed view of the effectiveness and safety of antidepressant drugs.  As far as they know, little evidence exists to make them think twice about prescribing antidepressants to their patients.  As a result, many more patients are ending up on frequently ineffective and dangerous antidepressant drugs. 

So again… where’s the outrage? 

Are we getting so used to the greed and social irresponsibility exhibited by some of our major corporations that we are becoming immune?  Did we already forget the lessons taught by the likes of Enron, Tyco, Worldcom, and Adelphia? 

And what is the role of the FDA in all of this?   Don’t our tax dollars ensure they follow their own mission statement to protect us from such activity?

Congress has been well aware of the risks associated with antidepressants for many years but has done very little to address the problem.  Why?  Probably because there’s far too much money involved.  How much money?  

The pharmaceutical industry consistently outspends other economic sectors on Washington lobbying. Drug companies spent $155 million on lobbying between Jan 2005-June 2006[1].  This large cash infusion has been instrumental in keeping us from having access to less expensive drugs from Canada and other foreign countries.  In fact, this money pretty much ensures that nothing interferes with the enormous profits being raked in by the pharmaceutical giants. 

It’s not just lobbying that keeps the pharmaceutical companies wealthy.  Their bread and butter is consumer direct advertising.  No surprise there.  You can’t turn on your television anymore without being bombarded by pharmaceutical ads plugging drugs for every ailment from osteoporosis to erectile dysfunction.  No wonder more than half of all Americans are now on prescription medications.   

The goal of these ads?  Simply to get more people to request these drugs from their doctors by name.  That’s why they're pitching us products that we cannot buy without a doctor.  And it’s working.

Did you know that the United States and New Zealand continue to be the only two developed countries that allow the advertising of pharmaceutical drugs directly to consumers?[2]  The resulting corporate-friendly landscape has resulted in a massive overprescribing of pharmaceutical medications.