3,000 Scots children on 'zombie' drug

Prescriptions of the psychiatric drug Ritalin to children have increased by almost 70% in the past four years in Scotland, heightening fears that a generation of ‘zombie’ youngsters is being created. Despite these fears, Scottish GPs are prescribing Ritalin and its generic equivalents to ever-increasing numbers of children. The latest Scottish Executive figures suggest there are 30,000 annual prescriptions of Ritalin-type drugs annually, up 68% on 1999.

As reported in the story at the link, MSP Adam Ingram, who asked health minister Malcolm Chisholm for the latest figures, said: "What is the reason for this huge increase? Is it an outbreak of ADHD, which I would doubt? Or is it just that people are saying let’s go down this road of managing children’s behaviour in this way?"