PBS' Frontline has done an expose on Big Pharma's effect on America's children.

Over 6 MILLION American children are on pscychiatric drugs.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/medicatedchild/

I watched the show and it scared me - It seems obvious that the "professionals" have no idea what they are dealing with either from the patient's point of view or the drugs they are using.

Can this be a new rash of problems, what happened to people afflicted like this in previous generations?

How much of this could be the result of drugs taken by the parents before conception, both legal and illegal?

No questions were asked about the cost of treatment?

There is much talk about the second hand smoke in a car with children in it, but who questions the rights of these children in their treatment?

Who knows what the long term effect of these drugs will have on these children?

I don't question the motives of the doctors but the piece seemed to indicate they have no clue as to what they are doing to their patients or the families of their patients.

How much of this treatment is being financed by taxes?

Bruce, I think a more important question may be how much of the push to force this treatment is being financed by the Pharmeceuticals?

quote:

Originally posted by Jerry Thomas:
Bruce, I think a more important question may be how much of the push to force this treatment is being financed by the Pharmeceuticals?

Now that is an interesting question.

I would love to see it answered honestly, but you know we'll never get that answer.

To me, the doctor was grasping at straws to keep his own revenue flowing. Trying a different product means the patient returns to his office.

It has been said that curing a condition or problem is never as good as ongoing treatment,

How many of the patients described were on various drugs, many of which were prescribed to handle side effects of the others? Each drug adds to the patient's body chemistry causing additional problems requiring further treatment and testing.

I wonder if the patient needed the treatment or the parent, in the first place?

Over 6 MILLION American children are on pscychiatric drugs.
--- I am curious as to what percentage, roughly, that is of the youth population. Anybody know?

Maxine: "I am curious as to what percentage, roughly, that is of the youth population. Anybody know?"

It's a tricky question because it depends on what you define as a "child," but if you assume a child is anyone under the age of 18, it works out something like this:

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2006 estimated population of the United States was 299,398,484, and the portion under 18 years of age for the same year was 24.6%. That would be 73,652,027 kids.

Six million kids would be about 8.15%, or 8.1464153% if you want to get picky.

Thanks RAC. I have learned to get some sort of perspective on the figures (always in the millions or billions) reported by the media.So that's about one in ten teens high on something. I imagine that's up from what it used to be, to be sure. Anyway. I figured out that the percentage of people who get some sort of smoking related illness (or die) in my state is less than one tenth of one percent. But when that number of people is reported as "ten million" (or whatever) --- people tend to think "Holy Shit!!! That must be half or three quarters of the state!" (Unfortunately...)

Maxine: "So that's about one in ten teens high on something."

Well, it's probably more like one in three high on something, but those "somethings" aren't necessarily produced by Big Pharma.

But seriously, one in ten would be a hell of an exaggeration. Remember, that 1.85% difference between 8.15 and 10 amounts to over 1,362,562 children.

Statistics lie, inherently. You probably know the old saying....

(RAC said):Well, it's probably more like one in three high on something, but those "somethings" aren't necessarily produced by Big Pharma.
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Good point. One might also argue that RX drugs for kids might instill in their immature minds that illicit drug use later on is somehow a valid thing to do.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/snohomishcountyne...26864_recess16n.html
"...Recess, the source of rejoicing among generations of schoolchildren, may need legislative protection from school administrators trying to find more time for academics.."

Well personally, I see this move as a distastrous one--- but then, there is always a pill of some kind to relieve the kids' excess energy and any normal nervousness they might have, I suppose.