Paxil Alleged to Have Role in Teen's Suicide

Toronto, ONSara Carlin, of Oakville, Ontario, a municipality in the Metro Toronto corridor, was prescribed Paxil for anxiety. However, the antidepressant didn't prevent the 18-year-old from taking her own life, and a jury at an inquest hinted that Paxil might have played a role.


In the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) of 8/10/10, the jury concluded the teen's cause of death was "hanging by ligature while affected by depression, cocaine and ethanol." The jury did not claim that paroxetine had a role in the teen's death, but the Carlin family makes the point that assigning blame is beyond the purview of such inquests, and the fact that jurors recommended such an array of regulatory measures indicates that they believed the drug played a major role in the teen's death.

The jury made recommendations to the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care towards the development of a drug information system to track and monitor all drugs dispensed in the Canadian province.

But the jury didn't stop at just Ontario. For the rest of Canada, the jury recommended the creation of an arm's length body independent of Health Canada and drug industry funding to research drug safety, investigate adverse reactions and issue warnings to health care professionals, hospitals and the public at large.

Carlin's family, according to the CMAJ, believes that their daughter became depressed after taking Paxil for anxiety.

Paxil (paroxetine) is associated with a number of side effects and adverse reactions—not the least of which are birth defects, PPH and infant death. The issue has sparked an ongoing debate as to whether women taking Paxil for depression should come off the drug while pregnant to avoid risking harm to their unborn child versus risking harm to themselves in the process.