The Prozac economy.

A documentary presented by Will Self which presents a personal perspective of Prozac. Dorothy Nielsen comments on her memories of taking Prozac. The drug is now 25 years old. SSRIs (or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) are on the frontline of treating depression. But how effective are they in its treatment? Fluoxetin is the drug which was marketed as Prozac . Dr David Wong ‘father of Prozac’, comments on its discovery. Apparently up to one third of the population may be immune to its benefits; Wong’s assessment of the drug is measured, which is in stark contrast to the advertising literature from the pharmaceutical company (Eli Lilly). A turning point in the popularisation of the drug was the book, 'Prozac Nation' followed by a movie, which intimated that the whole world (at least that characterised by a New Yorker) was on it. Self ponders how it works? Dr Robert Baker from Eli Lilly says that the actions of Prozac are indirect; its effects are causal. Usage is now extremely widespread. Wong agrees that use is too widespread; used for short term mood enhancement rather than a long term therapy. Eli Lilly is hugely indebted to the financial rewards gained by developing and marketing the drug. Andrew Jack from the Financial Times comments on the impact of ‘big Pharma’s’ commercial drive to leverage money from their research and development with aggressive sales techniques. Susie Orbach (psychologist) comments; her thought is that big Pharma is 'repositioning' depression or unhappiness for their own gain. She comments that young people are finding it hard to engage with day-to-day life; they are built to perform and to get success, ‘nothing nourishes or sustains them’. They are ‘Prozac children’; children of our consumer culture. Self talks about the many side effects of SSRIs from compulsive yawning to suicide. However, the latter is statistically contested. A woman talks about her daughter, Kaitlin, who had adverse reactions to Prozac – a ‘normal’ 20-year old who wasn’t obviously depressed. The author of ‘Let them Eat Prozac,’ Professor David Healy, comments on raised suicide numbers. Dr David Nutt a specialist in neuropharmacology, disagrees coming to the opposite conclusion; that the drug has saved more lives. He looks to Scandinavia as an example, where the suicide rate has gone down despite it being the de facto treatment for depression. Unfortunately clinical drug trials cannot disprove this; depressed people are unlikely to be given placebos. Self visits his GP and discusses his difficulties giving up smoking and why the GP recommended a SSRI as a bridge. Both find it troubling that medication is being offered for bad things which happen in life. Alex Preston, writer, a friend of Self’s was prescribed Seroxat as a young man. He describes how hard it was to stop taking the drug; calling withdrawl a ‘mind storm’ and talk about his lack of appetite. Irving Kirsch, writer ‘The Emperor’s New Drugs’, suggests that all SSRIs are just providing a placebo effect.