Come on MHRA – admit Seroxat/Paxil really is addictive…

No one seems to want to admit Seroxat/Paxil is addictive… not Glaxo, not the FDA, not the World Health Organisation, not the MHRA… it seems the only people who are prepared to stand up and say Seroxat is addictive are those of us who actually took the drug.

I thought I was right to say I was addicted to Seroxat because I was totally dependent on the drug as I found I could not stop taking it without suffering terrible physical and mental withdrawal symptoms… a simple and straightforward enough premise. In fact The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English (date: 2008) agrees with me, defining addiction as: the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity.

In a recent meeting with Bob Fiddaman, Kent Woods of the MHRA disagreed as he repeated the big pharma mantra about the definition of ‘addiction’: “8. KW noted that the term “addiction” ought to be reserved for circumstances which typically entailed cravings leading to increase in dosage…”

Well Kent, I’ve got some news for you – I have no time for semantics designed to protect drug manufacturers (or the MHRA) while you sit there and ignore patients’ experiences.

I was addicted to Seroxat. It is an addictive drug.

Here are some more definitions of Addiction:

• Psychological and bodily dependence on a substance or practice which is beyond voluntary control
  www.painaction.com/painaction/Glossary.aspx
  
• An illness in which a person seeks and consumes a substance, such as alcohol, tobacco or a drug, despite the fact that it causes harm.
  www.nationalpainfoundation.org/MyTreatment/MayoClinic_glossary.asp
  
• A primary, chronic, neurobiologic disease, with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. …
  www.painsweb.com/articles/3/1/Pain-Glossary/Page1.html
  
• Dependence on a chemical substance to the extent that a physiological and/or strong psychological need is established.
  www.snowdenmentalhealth.com/glossary.mgi
  
• Is characterized by the repeated use of a substance or behavior despite clear evidence of negative consequences resulting from the use of the substance or behavior. Addiction usually has two components – physical addiction and psychological addiction.
  methaddictionanddrugs.com/t-glossary.aspx
  
• The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in something. Read about addiction in Wikipedia Addiction
  www.treatmentsolutionsnetwork.com/dictionary.aspx
  
• dependence on a substance (such as alcohol or other drugs) or an activity, to the point that stopping is very difficult and causes severe physical and mental reactions
  www.hsc.wvu.edu/som/cmed/alcohol/glossary.htm
  
• A behavioural pattern characterized by compulsion, loss of control, and continued repetition of a behaviour or activity spite of adverse consequenses.
  www.mherc.mb.ca/gloss.html
  
• Psychological or emotional dependence on the effects of a drug.
  www.pbs.org/secondopinion/episodes/chronicpain/medicalglossary/story425.html
  
• a state of being dependent on a certain substance, which is harmful or dangerous for the physical or mental health of the person, for his social well-being and economical functioning of the subject
  library.thinkquest.org/C0115926/glosary.htm
  
• A compulsive disorder caused by long-lasting chemical changes in the brain.
  www.brooks-law.com/CM/Custom/Definitions.asp
• physical and psychological dependence, including tolerance of a drug, withdrawal symptoms when use is stopped, and persistent relapses following reversal of physical dependence.
  www.adha.org/CE_courses/course3/definition_of_terms.htm
• Loss of control with respect to use of a drug, taking the drug despite related problems, and a tendency to relapse.
  www.careinaction.com/resources_dict_a.html
• a disease, influenced by genetic, psychological, social, and environmental factors, that changes the normal way the nervous system works. …
  www.duragesic.com/duragesic/patient_glossary_index.html