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Old 06-19-2008, 05:26 PM   #98 (permalink)
Martian
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Location: Canada
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sion
Except for the 492 "serious problems".

"FDA statistics show that between 600,000 and 700,000 people (70% of them children or adolescents) are being treated with Ritalin. Between 1980 and 1987, the latest period for which statistics are available, the FDA received 492 complaints of serious problems resulting from the drug. The agency said this level of complaints indicates the drug is safe."
492 out of the lowball 600 000 estimate is still less than one in a thousand users. Given that just about any drug has the potential to cause 'serious problems,' I'd say that's pretty damn good.

Figure 600 000 out of the entire US population (~300 million) is one in five hundred. Out of those one in five hundred, one in a thousand may have serious issues. So the actual statistic is one in five hundred thousand. If you live in a medium sized city, there may be one person who has a serious adverse reaction to ritalin. Compared to some drugs, that's damn near miraculous.
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