From the [UK] Telegraph:

The use of powerful mind-altering drugs to treat supposedly hyperactive or badly behaved children has tripled in just seven years, despite fears over harmful side-effects.

Figures show that GPs wrote nearly 406,000 prescriptions for such drugs last year, compared with 135,000 in 1999. Politicians and children’s groups branded the rise “astonishing”.

David Laws, the Liberal Democrat children’s spokesman, said: “We need a fundamental review of whether we are right to be pouring chemicals into our children in this way. Perhaps we should instead be looking at issues such as food, sleeping patterns, family upheaval, and general environment.”

Laws, who obtained the figures in a Parliamentary question, said some families may be pressuring GPs to prescribe drugs to allow them to claim child disability allowances.

Parents who have a child diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are entitled to benefits of up to £10,000 a year.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 26th, 2007 at 9:06 am and is filed under ADHD, drugs, medicine, politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post