Last month, the Food and Drug Administration was encouraged by a federal advisory panel to put stark "black box" warnings on the labels of medications like Prozac, Paxil, Effexor, and more. The new warnings--which come in bold letters surrounded by a black border, placed front and center on the medications--will alert users that that anti-depressants can increase suicidal tendencies in some people.While those same warnings are already on the label when the medications are prescribed for children and adolescents, the FDA--which traditionally accepts the recommendations of its advisory panels--is now likely to include them on medications for adults up to 25 years old, as well. There seems to be no comparable evidence of suicide-related problems from use of these medications by users older than 25.
Still, the expanded use of the black box warning--the strongest the federal agency is allowed to issue--is a new concern to people already wrestling with serious emotional stress and depression. (http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2007/012007/01082007/246074)
