United Nations Takes a Stand on Child Drugging

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PRESS RELEASE:

October 3, 2005

Contact: Marla Filidei

humanrights

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BREAKING NEWS

UNITED

NATIONS STEPS INTO CHILD DRUGGING CONTROVERSY; WARNS AGAINST PSYCHIATRIC

LABELING AND HARMFUL ADHD-DRUGS

Separately,

FDA orders black box warning on ADHD-prescribed drug

In a landmark report, the United Nations Committee on the

Rights of the Child, the world's premier children's rights body, has issued a

strong warning against falsely labeling youth with the psychiatric diagnosis of

" Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) " and administering

powerful ADHD-drugs.

In its Concluding Observations on reports by Australia, Finland

and Denmark

regarding their compliance to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child,

the Committee expressed concern that " [ADHD] and Attention Deficit

Disorder (ADD) are being misdiagnosed and therefore psycho-stimulant drugs are

being overprescribed, despite growing evidence of the harmful effects of these

drugs. "

Jan Eastgate, international president of the

psychiatric watchdog group, Citizens Commission on Human Rights, applauded the

report. " The misdiagnosing and psychiatric drugging of children are

violations of human rights and we commend the Committee for taking

action, " she said.

The Committee urges that " other forms of management and

treatment " be used to address difficult behavior in children.

With an estimated 17 million children prescribed

mind-altering drugs, the United Nations is the latest in a series of government

bodies to alert the public to the damage they can do to young people. Prompted

by reports of harm — including deaths — attributed to the drugs,

agencies have been reviewing clinical reports that confirm the side effects to

include hallucinations, hostility, agitation, aggression, suicidal tendencies

and violent behavior.

On September 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered

that " black box " warnings be placed on a commonly prescribed ADHD

drug, after clinical trials linked the drug to suicidal thoughts and behavior.

The FDA indicated that the new warning stems from an ongoing review of all ADHD

drugs and their possible association with suicide.

A day before the FDA's ruling, the British National Health

Service's Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)

issued guidelines for doctors on non-psychiatric remedies for children,

including regular sleep, exercise and nutrition. NICE

issued the guidelines following a June 2003 British Medical advisory warning

doctors that anti-depressants can pose suicidal risks for young people.

On August 19th, the Commission of the European Communities,

representing 25 countries, issued the strongest warnings to date by any medical

agency against child antidepressant use, based on findings by the European

Medicines Agency. Clinical trials again confirmed that the drugs caused

suicidal behavior as well as aggression and hostility in children and

adolescents. The Commission recommended against the prescription of these drugs

for anyone under 18.

Said Ms. Eastgate, " The UN, the FDA and the European

Commission should be encouraged to seek out and eradicate the source of the

problem-psychiatrists who have misled governments, medical agencies and the

public. There is no brain scan, blood test, X-Ray or 'chemical imbalance' test

to verify the existence of so-called ADHD. Psychiatry's false marketing

campaign is destroying children's lives. "

CCHR has documented that psychiatrists

and mental health interests have promoted their false diagnoses to maintain a

more than $20 billion dollar-a-year industry.

OFFICE OF THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH

COMMISSIONER ON HUMAN RIGHTS

COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

AUSTRALIA

http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/docs/co/CRC.C.15.Add.268.pdf

49. The Committee is also concerned at the information that

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Attention Deficit Disorder

(ADD) are being mis-diagnosed and therefore psycho-stimulant drugs are being

overprescribed, despite the growing evidence of the harmful effects of these

drugs.

50. The Committee recommends that further research be

undertaken on the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD and ADD, including the

possible negative effects of psycho-stimulants on the physical and

psychological well-being of children, and that other forms of management and

treatment are used as much as possible to address these behavioural disorders.

FINLAND

http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/docs/co/CRC.C.15.Add.272.pdf

38. The Committee is also concerned at the information that

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Attention Deficit Disorder

(ADD) are being misdiagnosed and therefore psycho-stimulant drugs are being

overprescribed, despite the growing evidence of the harmful effects of these

drugs.

39. The Committee recommends that further research be

undertaken on the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD and ADD, including the

possible negative effects of psycho-stimulants on the physical and

psychological well-being of children, and that other forms of management and

treatment are used as much as possible to address these behavioural disorders.

DENMARK

http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/docs/co/CRC.C.15.Add.273.pdf

43. The Committee is concerned at the information that

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Attention Deficient

Disorder (ADD) are being mis-diagnosed and therefore psycho-stimulant drugs are

being over-prescribed, despite the growing evidence of the harmful effects of

these drugs.

44. The Committee recommends that further research be

undertaken on the diagnosis and the treatment of ADHD and ADD, including

possible negative effects of psychological well-being of children, and that

other forms of management and treatment are used as much as possible to address

these behavioral disorder.