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Anti-depressants

The suicide rate has gone up by as much as 15 percent over the past decade in New Jersey and throughout the United States. Frequently, patients have been prescribed a variety of anti-depressant medications such as Zoloft, Prozac and Paxil to treat individuals with depression and suicidal tendencies, but studies suggested that these drugs may possibly be less effective than placebos.

More than 250 million prescriptions for anti-depressants have been sold every year. The benefit of using these medications for mild to moderate depression has been found in certain studies to be no more effective in dealing with the depression than would sugar pills. Just as important, the problem is compounded by the number of side effects that come along with the taking these medications – including side effects of violence, and increased suicidal thoughts and actions.

It’s well documented that drug manufacturers are making hundreds of millions of dollars from the prescription and sales of its products. Of note, the only drugs possibly prescribed more than anti-depressants are anti-cholesterol medications.

It’s because of the profits that these drug companies make that lawyers will hold the corporations accountable for not thorough testing the products concerning adverse side effects. These companies are making profits off of the very individuals that the products ultimately end up injuring.

There is a major problem with any medication if the side effects from using it are worse than the illness it was designed to treat. Unfortunately, that appears to be the case with many anti-depressants. Especially in children, it has been found that the use of anti-depressants may make their behavior more violent and, in some instances, result in an increasing number of suicides.

Source: Examiner, “Suicide now the leading cause of injury-related death in the United States,” by Jeannie Stokowski-Bisanti, Oct. 14, 2012

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