Pyschiatric Drug Initiative
Rise in Prescriptions for Kids Leads to Federal Effort
W A S H I N G T O N, March 20 — The White House planned to announce today a push to reverse a sharp rise in U.S. preschool children using Ritalin, Prozac and other psychiatric drugs, the New York Times reported.
Citing Clinton administration officials, the Times reported in Monday’s editions that the federal government planned to inform parents and teachers about the risks of using the drugs on preschoolers.
Among some of the campaign’s other initiatives, the Food and Drug Administration will develop new drug labels and the National Institutes of Health will begin a nationwide study of Ritalin use in children under the age of 6, the Times said.
According to the Times, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and federal health officials were set to meet today with parents, psychiatrists, pediatricians, psychologists and others.
Drugs Not First Option
The administration also planned to issue a statement declaring that “the use of medication is not generally the first option for a preschool child with a psychiatric disorder,” the Times said.
Administration officials told the Times that the effort was inspired mainly by Mrs. Clinton, now a candidate for the U.S. Senate in New York. The officials said Mrs. Clinton wanted to announce steps after seeing the immense public concern about the use of powerful pills to treat toddlers with emotional and behavioral disorders.
In a Journal of the American Medical Association study last month, researchers reported that there apparently had been an acute increase in the number of preschoolers taking psychotropic drugs, particularly stimulants such as Ritalin and antidepressants such as Prozac, the Times said.
Switzerland’s Novartis AG makes Ritalin. Eli Lilly and Co. makes Prozac.
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