An article in the The Australian highlights the ambivalence of modern societies towards psychotropic drugs. Particularly the use of those drugs to treat children.
Consider the difference between label warnings in Australia and the US.
- United States – “On the packet of one leading brand, the following warning is displayed in bold type: ‘Anti-depressants increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behaviour (suicidality) in short-term studies in children and adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and other psychiatric disorders.’”
- Australia – “They all say SSRIs are not recommended for use in children and adolescents for depression, but few reveal the increased risk of thoughts of suicide or self-harm in this group.”
The piece exposes a policy contradiction within the governments of both countries.
Although some drug labels in the US warn of suicide in children while Australia uses a “dis-recommendation”, government funded health insurance programs help people buy these drugs.
A quote from the paper attempts to explain the Australian government’s contradiction.
- “The health department said the decision to pay rebates but withhold marketing approval for the use of SSRIs in children for treatment of depression was a “sensible balance” between the risk of inappropriate prescription and the risk of leaving the illness untreated.”
We are talking about children here. Both governments are passing the buck.
As Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee puts it “These treating doctors will, of course, have to carefully consider the options, risks and benefits of prescribing these medicines.”
Here in the US, Food Drug Administration makes its non-decision about the safety of antidepressants based on information provided by the drug companies; and with a child’s life in the balance, lets the psychiatrist roll the dice.
This is like saying “There’s a tomato salmonella outbreak across the country but we’ll let your grocer decide whether or not the tomatoes you buy are safe.”
