Withdrawal from paroxetine can be severe, warns FDA -- Tonks 324 (7332): 260 -- BMJ 2 Feb. 2002

Withdrawal from paroxetine can be severe, warns FDA -- Tonks 324 (7332): 260 -- BMJ

Alison Tonks, Bristol The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/324/7332/260

GlaxoSmithKline, a leading drugs manufacturer, was last week forced to admit that paroxetine, a widely prescribed antidepressant and the company's best selling drug, can cause severe withdrawal symptoms when stopped.

The Food and Drug Administration in the United States published a new product warning about the drug, and in the same week the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations declared the company guilty of misleading the public about paroxetine on US television a year ago.

"This drug has been promoted for years as safe and easy to discontinue," said Charles Medawar, head of Social Audit, a consumer research group specialising in medicines policy. "The fact that it can cause intolerable withdrawal symptoms of the kind that could lead to dependence is enormously important to patients, doctors, investors, and the company.

"GlaxoSmithKline has evaded the issue since