Depressing times for Nick Clegg
The Guardian of 27 February and an item titled "The creation of the Prozac myth". Snippet: "In the 20 years since its launch, 40m people worldwide have taken the so-called wonder drug — but research revealed this week shows that Prozac, and similar antidepressants, are no more effective than a sugar pill."
The Guardian of 8 February and an item titled "Clegg warns of 'Prozac nation' Britain as pill-taking soars". Snippet: "Britain has become a 'Prozac nation', with the use of antidepressants spiralling out of control amid a crisis in mental health care, the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg..."
But if Prozac, and similar antidepressants, are no more effective than a sugar pill, doesn't this leave Nick Clegg look rather silly? He's either an alarmist crying "Wolf!" or an opportunist crying "Fire!" Clegg should have learned from the Charles Kennedy unhappiness that Liberal Democrat leaders and drugs do not mix.
Comments
Based on these news, you could also take the view that the power of suggestion is even stronger than previously thought: Just because it was a medical doctor who proscribed it and it said on the label that it would cheer you up, it actually *did* cheer a lot of people up.
So to rephrase the one sentence from the Guardian accordingly: 'Britain has become a hallucination nation, with the use of imaginary but strangely effective antidepressants spiralling out of control amid a crisis in mental health care, the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg...' ;-)
Posted by: Ralf Goergens | February 29, 2008 2:46 PM