Let Them Eat Prozac : The Unhealthy Relationship Between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Depression

by Healy, David

• ISBN13: 9780814736692
• ISBN10: 0814736696
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-06-01
• Publisher: New York University Press

Summary

View the Table of Contents . Read the Introduction . "A compelling story about mystery, deception, death, disappointment, vindication, and uncertainty." --The American Psychological Association "Healy confirms his status as one longtime thorn in the side of big drug companies, recounting how he was initially enthusiastic about SSRIs but eventually grew concerned about their side effects." --Psychology Today "Physicians should be aware ofLet Them Eat Prozac." --JAMA "Let Them Eat Prozacis a double-pronged exploration, first of the SSRI drugs used to treat depression, and second of the drug industry." --Publishers Weekly "Ultimately, the book is about science, society and the power and misuse of commercial promotion. . . . His investigation is impressive." --Nature "This very important book will demonstrate beyond your worst dreams that the commercial needs of Big Pharma are the natural-born enemy of independent scientific research." --John Le Carr? "Healy presents technical matters clearly. This book could not be more timely." --Foreword "Let Them Eat Prozacis an interesting history. It asks some stimulating and challenging questions, which are still in need of better and more constructive answers." --Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry "In a flood of academic publications and talks, David Healy has issued harsh criticisms of both the pharmaceutical industry in general and the nearly $20-billion-dollar-a-year antidepressant industry in particular." --Boston Globe "Healy does raise some timely issues." --Psychiatric Services "Dr. Healy's tenacity in fighting for what he believes in is admirable." --E-Streams "[Healy is] the leading authority on the history of psychopharmacology." --Times Literary Supplement ocirc;An alarming book. . . . The most disturbing part of the story Healy tells is not merely about the risks of SSRIs but about the efforts of the pharmaceutical industry to make sure those risks were not uncovered.ouml; --Dissent "In his timely new book, Healy draws on his extensive experience in antidepressant studies and involvement in legal actions against drug manufacturers. . . . Healy has the advantage of access to internal pharmaceutical industry documents and makes a strong case." --Library Journal "The author is an excellent historian who offers a gripping interpretation of the role of the pharmaco-industrial complex in the introduction of SSRIs. His recommendation for a funded agency that would carefully evaluate the benefits and harms of marketed drugs is a superb idea and much needed." --Jonathan Cole, Harvard Medical School "Healy exposes the massive fraud and deception in the production and marketing of antidepressant drugs, the selevtive serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)." --Choice Prozac. Paxil. Zoloft. Turn on your television and you are likely to see a commercial for one of the many selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) on the market. We hear a lot about them, but do we really understand how these drugs work and what risks are involved for anyone who uses them? Let Them Eat Prozacexplores the history of SSRIs--from their early development to their latest marketing campaigns--and the controversies that surround them. Initially, they seemed l

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Preface: Under the Thundercloud of a Common Experience	xi
Introduction: Before Prozac	1	(253)
1 Take One	40	(24)
2 Events in Kentucky	64	(23)
3 Down the Barrel of a Lawyer	87	(16)
4 Market Force	103	(26)
5 A Pacific Fault Line	129	(21)
6 Kafka's Castle	150	(24)
7 Experiment at the End of the Millennium	174	(20)
8 The Plots Thicken	194	(30)
9 The Tort Wars	224	(30)
10 Let Them Eat Prozac	254	(30)
Epilogue: Anecdotal Deaths	284	(5)
Notes	289	(52)
Index	341	(10)
About the Author	351