LOS ANGELES - ColoradoDesk -- By CCHR International

The mental health industry watchdog Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is calling for sweeping reforms to inform families and patients about hidden, potentially life-threatening side effects linked to widely prescribed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) drugs. The demand follows alarming new regulatory agency warnings from Australia and Germany about atomoxetine, a "non-stimulant" ADHD medication, which is now linked to homicidal thoughts in both children and adults.

In May, Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) issued an urgent update to the product information for atomoxetine hydrochloride, warning of the risk of "aggressive behavior including homicidal ideation" in children and adults.[1] A separate alert in June emphasized "severe cases" of "physical assault, or threatening behavior and thoughts of harming others."[2] The updated product information also says that "aggressive behavior or hostility was more frequently observed in clinical trials among children, adolescents, and adults treated with atomoxetine compared to placebo."[3]

In February, Germany's Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices released its own warning, referencing the European Medicines Agency's Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC), which determined a "possible connection" between atomoxetine and cases of serotonin syndrome—a potentially fatal condition causing toxicity—as well as physical assaults, threatening behavior, and homicidal thoughts.[4]

"The stakes are enormous," said Jan Eastgate, president of CCHR International. "The Atomoxetine Hydrochloride Market was valued at $1.2 billion last year, and the U.S. ADHD drug market overall has ballooned to $20 billion annually. Yet consumers remain uninformed of the magnitude of these risks."

New studies confirm that atomoxetine's risks are a small part of much larger concerns with ADHD drugs:

• A 2024 study found that patients taking higher doses of ADHD drugs were more than five times as likely to develop psychosis or mania compared to lower-dose patients.[5]
• A 2023 study found a 23% increase in the risk of heart disease among patients who used ADHD drugs for more than five years.[6]
• The FDA updated its own black box warnings to state that ADHD stimulants can cause addiction. The FDA's safety communication about the warning states that this can happen even when taken exactly as prescribed.[7]
• Renowned Danish physician and researcher Dr. Peter C. Gøtzsche describes short-term harms including tics, twitches, compulsive behaviors, aggression, and suicidal or homicidal ideation.[8]

Despite these known risks, prescriptions continue to soar. Using data from IQVIA, CCHR reports that in 2020 alone, over 6.4 million U.S. adults aged 18–65+ were prescribed ADHD stimulants, including more than 340,000 seniors. In the same year, over 3.1 million children and teens aged 17 and under were prescribed ADHD stimulants—including more than 58,000 children under the age of five, even though these drugs are not FDA-approved for such young children.

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CCHR emphasizes that parents are rarely told that ADHD is diagnosed subjectively—there is no objective lab test or scan to substantiate it. A recent study from the University of Copenhagen analyzed 292 randomized controlled trials for adult ADHD and found widespread methodological flaws. Many trials relied on self-diagnosis, online checklists, or untrained staff, and more than half included participants with other psychiatric labels, making the data unreliable.[9]

This echoes a major exposé in 2022 that debunked the "chemical imbalance" myth used for decades to justify antidepressant use—a marketing ploy that convinced millions they had a brain defect requiring pills.

SciTech Daily reported on the Copenhagen findings: "With adult ADHD diagnoses soaring, often driven by online content, the findings raise serious concerns about research reliability and treatment accuracy. If flawed science is shaping how millions are treated, are we getting ADHD all wrong?"

Dr. Allen Frances, former chair of the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) IV task force, has warned that the DSM contributed to "three false epidemics"—ADHD, autism, and childhood bipolar disorder—by pathologizing normal behaviors. He remains a vocal critic of psychiatry's expansion into ordinary aspects of childhood and adult life.[10]

The Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine recently concluded, "The real epidemic out there is the epidemic of ADHD diagnosing and prescribing… Lacking proven biological anchoring, syndromal categories are susceptible to cultural trends regarding over-medicalization and societal contagion."[11]

CCHR says the mounting international warnings about atomoxetine and other ADHD drugs highlight a failure of informed consent on a massive scale. "The idea that a drug prescribed to millions of children and adults could induce homicidal behavior is nothing short of astonishing—yet parents and consumers remain largely in the dark," said Eastgate. "This is a complete breakdown of the psychiatric-pharmaceutical industry violating informed consent. Regulators, prescribers, and manufacturers must be held accountable for ensuring clear, timely warnings reach every patient and parent before a pill is ever swallowed. Anything less is a betrayal of public trust—and leaves lives needlessly at risk."

Founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry, Dr. Thomas Szasz, CCHR is a nonprofit mental health industry watchdog dedicated to investigating and exposing psychiatric violations of human rights.

Sources:

[1] Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration "Product Information safety updates - April 2025," 22 May 2025, www.tga.gov.au/news/safety-updates/product-information-safety-updates-april-2025-0

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[2] Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration "Product Information safety updates - May 2025, Product Information safety updates," 26 June 2025, www.tga.gov.au/news/safety-updates/product-information-safety-updates-june-2025

[3] AUSTRALIAN PRODUCT INFORMATION ATOMOXETINE HYDROCHLORIDE CAPSULES

[4] "Atomoxetine: New warnings about serotonin syndrome and homicidal thoughts," Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, 7 Feb. 2025, www.bfarm.de/SharedDocs/Risikoinformationen/Pharmakovigilanz/EN/RI/2025/RI-atomoxetin.html

[5] Akshay Syal, M.D., "High doses of ADHD drugs linked to a greater risk of psychosis," Yahoo! News, 12 Sept. 2024, www.yahoo.com/news/high-doses-adhd-drugs-linked-110000596.html; "A new warning about common ADHD meds from Boston-area psychiatrist," NBC Boston, 12 Sept. 2024, www.nbcboston.com/news/local/adhd-medication-warning/3485513

[6] Deidre McPhillips, "People taking ADHD medications should closely monitor their heart health, study suggests," CNN, 22 Nov. 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/11/22/health/adhd-medication-heart-disease-risk-wellness/index.html; Zhang, et al., "Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Medications and Long-Term Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases," JAMA Psychiatry, 22 Nov. 2023, jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2811812

[7] "FDA updating warnings to improve safe use of prescription stimulants used to treat ADHD and other conditions," FDA, 11 May 2023, www.fda.gov/media/168066/download

[8] Peter C. Gøtzsche, MD "Critical Psychiatry Textbook, Chapter 9: ADHD (Part Two)," Mad In America, 14 Aug. 2023, www.madinamerica.com/2023/08/critical-psychiatry-textbook-chapter-9-part-two/

[9] "Misdiagnosed Millions? Why ADHD Science May Be Leading Us Astray," SciTechDaily, 8 July 2025, scitechdaily.com/misdiagnosed-millions-why-adhd-science-may-be-leading-us-astray/

[10] Derek Summerfield, "'Adult ADHD' and 'neurodevelopmental disorder' – a critique of the latest socio-psychiatric 'epidemic,'" Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 22 Jan. 2025, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11755421/

[11] Derek Summerfield, "'Adult ADHD' and 'neurodevelopmental disorder' – a critique of the latest socio-psychiatric 'epidemic,'" Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 22 Jan. 2025, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11755421/

The views expressed in this release are those of CCHR.