The 10-20-30 Pattern
Dr. Joseph Glenmullen, author of Prozac
Backlash, describes the 10-20-30 pattern as a cycle characteristic of
popular psychiatric drugs. Typically, these drugs are hailed as revolutionary
wonder drugs when they first arrive on the commercial market.
10
| By the end of the first 10 years, the earliest signs of problems start to appear. Patients begin to complain of problems that the pharmaceutical company and other proponents of the drug often dismiss. |
20
| After 20 years, the medical community also sees problems and a significant number of physicians step in to sound the alarm. |
30
| In 30 years, the regulatory agencies and professional organizations intervene to curtail over-prescribing or to take the drug off the market [Glenmullen, 2000]. |
The cycle continues as the next breakthrough drugs appear on the market. Heavily promoted as safe alternatives to the previous "wonder" drug, they rise in popularity without sufficient evaluation of their potential hazards [Glenmullem, 2000].
