SIGHTINGS


 
Eli Lilly Company Denies
Prozac Caused Oregon
HS Shooting
5-24-98
 
Note - Jeff interviewed Dr. Peter Breggin on 5-7-98 about the horrendous effects of Ritalin and Prozac on children. It is urged that you listed to the Archive of this program and read Dr. Breggin's two recent landmark books: 'Talking Back To Prozac' and 'Talking Back To Ritalin' as soon as you can.
 
 
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The company that makes Prozac went on the defensive amid reports that the Oregon 15-year-old accused of shooting his parents and two schoolmates had been taking the drug.
 
Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. on Friday reiterated its stance that Prozac does not increase violent tendencies.
 
``There is abundant evidence about Prozac showing no link to any sort of violent behavior,'' Lilly spokesman Jeff Newton said.
 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded the same in a 1991 report on antidepressants, suicide and violence, Newton said.
 
A classmate of Kip Kinkel, who is charged in Thursday's shooting spree at Thurston High School in Springfield, Ore., said Kinkel had been taking Prozac.
 
Kinkel allegedly opened fire on a crowded cafeteria, killing two classmates and critically wounding others, before a classmate tackled him. Later, the bodies of Kinkel's parents were found at his home.
 
Prozac has been praised as a wonder drug in the fight against depression, but critics say it provokes violence in some patients.
 
In scores of court cases raising that issue, Lilly has successfully argued that when violence occurs, it is a symptom of the illness rather than of the medication prescribed to treat it.
 
In 1989, a man who had used Prozac killed eight people and injured 12 others before taking his own life in Louisville, Ky. The victims' families sued Lilly, but a jury found Prozac wasn't responsible.


Sightings HomePage