Lawsuit targets maker of Paxil!!!

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http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_2500382,00.html

Lawsuit targets maker of Paxil

65 Coloradans say they weren't told of withdrawal risk

By Abbott, Rocky Mountain News

December 13, 2003

Sixty-five Coloradans sued the maker of the antidepressant Paxil in federal

court Friday, claiming the company failed to warn them that the drug can

produce dependency, addiction and painful withdrawal symptoms.

" That's absolutely not true, " said Anne Rhyne, spokeswoman for

British-based Paxil maker GlaxoKline.

" We have had in our label language discussion of symptoms that can occur

upon discontinuing Paxil for quite some time, " Rhyne said.

" You can experience symptoms, as you can with other

SSRIs and as you can with other kinds of medicines as well. "

Paxil is a type of antidepressant known as a selective serotonin re-uptake

inhibitor (SSRI). It is related to such antidepressants as Prozac and

Zoloft.

" For the most part the symptoms are mild to moderate, and temporary, " Rhyne

said.

The Colorado lawsuit, filed in Denver U.S. District Court as a proposed

class action, said the company's advertisements state falsely that Paxil is

not habit-forming.

No package insert warns that Paxil can cause nausea, anxiety, dizziness,

sensory disturbances, headaches, vision distortion, sweating, agitation,

fatigue, tremor, sleep disturbances including intense dreams, confusion,

palpitations, insomnia, irritability and digestive disorders, the lawsuit

said.

It said all the plaintiffs took Paxil under doctors' prescriptions. When

they reduced their dosages or stopped taking the drug, they suffered one or

more of the withdrawal symptoms.

" These reactions were unexpected by plaintiffs and their physicians and

plaintiffs would not have taken Paxil if they had known about Paxil's

general habit-forming nature and ability to cause withdrawal symptoms, " the

lawsuit said.

It said GlaxoKline's labeling on Paxil in other countries warns that

abruptly discontinuing the drug can cause the withdrawal symptoms.

The lawsuit was filed by the Boulder law firm Warren & Boonin. It seeks

damages and court orders restricting advertising claims about Paxil.

The plaintiffs come from all over Colorado, including the Denver area, Grand

Junction, Trinidad, Colorado Springs, Steamboat Springs, Pueblo, Greeley,

Lamar, Durango, Salida, Fort and Cortez.

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