Public Announcement on Prozac

Ottawa - 21 October l991

The Canadian Psychiatric Association wishes to reassure psychiatric patients and their families about the effects of Prozac (fluoxetine), an antidepressant medication. A review of extensive data does not indicate that this medication causes patients to become violent or to commit suicide. This statement by the Canadian Psychiatric Association does not aim to endorse any particular antidepressant but to reaffirm the efficacy of antidepressants in the treatment of depression. Depression is a serious mental illness that carries a certain risk of morbidity and mortality, and requires careful diagnosis as well as prompt and rigorous treatment. Antidepressants have proven effective in treating depressed patients. Discussions of suicide or violence must proceed in the rigor and objectivity of the best scientific traditions, away from sensationalism and careless disregard for the citizens' right to effective psychiatric treatment.