Thursday, September 28, 2006

The Power of Marketing

Allowing drugmakers to market ADHD drugs straight to the consumer spurred a 250 percent increase in psychotropic drugs in teens, a new study found.

Prior to 1994, drugmakers were not allowed to direct-to-consumer market psychotropic drugs. The federal government lifted the ban and the drug use floodgates opened.

According to a new Brandeis University study, published in the journal of Psychiatric Services, prescriptions of psychotropic drugs for teens increased 250% between 1994 and 2001.

By 2001, one in every ten office visits by teenage boys led to a prescription. Also, a diagnosis of ADHD was given in about one-third of the office visits that occurred during the study period. Furthermore, psychotropic drugs were prescribed without a mental health diagnosis in 14 to 26 percent of doctor visits.

This dramatic drug use increase occurred despite the fact that few of these psychotropic drugs are approved for children under 18. Researchers say that this trend needs further investigation.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am currently taking taking the generic form of Adderall xr 30 mg
and I just paid $134 for 30 day supply. Walmart. No insurance. I usually paid $163 for the same meds at Rite aid. I am trying to find a cheaper med that works the same. Any suggestions?

Carole said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jeannine said...

Seriously, try Attend. It is shown to be as effective as the prescription meds and it costs less than $40 for a month.