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ALL antidepressants sold in the US will soon be required to carry a “black box” warning on the packet, as well as a reader-friendly insert alerting people to the increased risk of suicidal tendencies in young patients, the Food and Drug Administration announced last week. A black box label is the most serious warning the FDA can issue.

The move follows advisory meetings in February and September on the evidence that children taking antidepressants are twice as likely to have suicidal tendencies as those on a placebo. The FDA looked only at trial data on five selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors…

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