[SBH] BBC - First drug launched for social phobics
Monday, October 5, 1998 Published at 11:51 GMT 12:51 UK
The cost to the NHS could be £700m a year
The launch of the first drug for people who cannot cope
with normal social situations has sparked fears of a huge
new drain on NHS finances.
Seroxat is already used to treat
depression, but researchers have
discovered that the drug also helps
people suffering from social phobia
and acute social disorder.
The conditions, which affect around 2% of the public,
can leave people unable to eat in public, unable to
maintain eye contact and virtually housebound.
Sufferers can miss out at school and
may later turn to alcohol and drug
abuse to try to combat their phobia.
"Social phobia is fear of, avoidance
and anxious anticipation of social
situations," said a spokesman for manufacturer
SmithKline Beecham.
"These would interfere with a person's daily routine. It is
different from normal shyness."
Usually, social phobia is linked to other conditions such
as agoraphobia, panic disorders and obsessive
compulsive disorder for which a patient may already have
sought treatment.
Well-being
Seroxat increases the level of seratonin in the brain,
creating a feeling of well-being and self-confidence.
The UK is the first country to approve the drug to treat
social phobia - which allows a slightly wider usage than
its original licence.
It will be launched on the UK market on Thursday.
The drug has been used as an anti-depressant in the UK
since 1991.
It was the fastest selling anti-depressant drug in the UK
in the mid-1990s. In 1996, UK sales grew by 50%.
Price fears
The launch - hot on the heels of the launch of impotence
drug Viagra - has once again raised fears about the
impact of popular drugs on NHS budgets.
The media has presented the drug as a shyness pill,
leading to fears that there will be widespread demand for
it.
Some have suggested that it could cost the NHS around
£700m ($1.17bn) a year.
However, SmithKline Beecham say this is an
exaggeration since the drug will only be prescribed for
people with specific social disorders.
It adds that many of these people already go to their
GPs for treatment of associated disorders, such as
depression.
'No wonder drug'
But Dr John Chisholm, chairman of the British Medical
Association's GPs committee, told the BBC: "This is
another drug where the potential costs for the health
service are very considerable.
"The health service is under-funded and increasingly it is
recognised that it is not able to meet all possible needs
and that leads us into the very difficult area of making
hard choices between one problem and another."
However, Dr Brian Goss of the British Medical
Association told the Sunday Times: "It is not a wonder
drug to turn anoraks into witty after-dinner speakers, but
it will help people with a serious medical phobic
condition."
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