I am getting VERY confused by all this…
Just a few days ago, we had this news:
WARNINGS of the dangers of suicidal thoughts and behaviour are to be
included in the packages of anti-depressants in the UK. Warnings will be
carried in the patient information leaflet in the packets from October this
year (2008).
The direction was issued yesterday (Tuesday 5 February 2008) by the Government’s
Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
So it’s official then – Seroxat/Paxil is linked to suicide.
But wait – in a Panorama interview in April 2003, GlaxoSmithKline’s own spokesman, the one and only Alastair Benbow told us (in no uncertain terms):
“The evidence, however, is clear, these [Seroxat/Paxil] medicines are not linked with suicide, these medicines are not linked with an increased rate of self harm.”
And in ‘E-mails from the edge’ a Panorama programme broadcast in May 2003, Benbow once again defended Seroxat. He said “Whilst self-harm and suicidal thoughts are clearly a feature of depression, they have not been shown in carefully done studies to be a feature of treatment with these [Seroxat/Paxil] medicines.”
Now, remind me again Alastair – where did you put those “carefully done studies” that show Seroxat treatment is not associated with suicidal thoughts.
I think we would all like to see them – in fact, why didn’t you show them to the MHRA before it decided to add the new warnings to the patient information leaflet?
