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Doctors now write almost 7,500 prescriptions a week for Ritalin tablets, known as “chill pills”.

They cost about £200 a year per child and are likely to cost taxpayers a total of £12.48million this year, figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act have revealed.

The revelation comes as new figures show that Ritalin or similar drugs are being linked to at least 11 deaths in Britain.

 Source : The Daily Express

It's not uncommon here also in the U.S School systems to have nearly 30+% and some schools said to  have as high as 40+% of the kids on ritilin or some form of mind altering drug.

Last night the UK licensing authority, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), admitted that the deaths were likely to be an underestimate of the true figure because most doctors do not inform them of suspected cases.

Dr Sami Timimi, an expert in child behaviour, said taxpayers’ money is being wasted on Ritalin, which he warned may cause serious long-term damage.

“This is shocking and not a wise way to spend money,” he said. “By using Ritalin, doctors avoid addressing the real issues that are causing a child’s behavioural problems. It is like putting a sticking plaster on a huge wound.
“We could be storing up big problems for this generation of youngsters.”

New figures obtained by this paper also show that doctors have linked other serious side-effects with drugs such as Ritalin. These include 73 blood disorder reactions, 39 heart disorders and 80 stomach disorders.

Ritalin or similar pills are given to children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, a condition that affects mainly boys and includes problems focusing, controlling their actions and remaining still or quiet. Doctors wrote 97,224 prescriptions for the controversial drugs in the last three months of last year, at a total cost of £3.12million.

Finish the full story at The Daily Express