© Reuters / Nigel Roddis
The
British military is accused of failing to protect its soldier's mental
health. Figures show nearly 1,000 have sought psychiatric treatment
after being given the MoD's budget price anti-malarial drug Lariam.
A Freedom of Information (FoI) request revealed the figure is much
higher than previously thought, with 994 service personnel being
admitted to mental health clinics or psychiatric hospitals since 2008.
The figures only go back to 2007, so the true number may be much higher,
as Lariam, also known as mefloquine, has been in use for much longer.
The MoD has consistently defended the drug, which is one of several it
issues to troops, amid concerns that Lariam is contributing to an Armed
Forces mental health epidemic. This is despite growing pressure from
senior military figures, campaigners and relatives of those affected.
The drug, banned by US Special Forces two years ago, and which the UK
military avoids giving to pilots or divers, is still issued to UK
troops.
Its use continues despite evidence linking the
anti-malarial to the 2012 Panjwai Massacre, in which a US soldier
slaughtered 17 Afghan civilians after taking the drug.
Sergeant Robert Bales has since been sentenced to life imprisonment.
In an internal report, Roche, the drug's manufacturer, described the killings as an "adverse event."
Roche themselves have conceded that the side effects can include "
hallucinations, psychosis, suicide, suicidal thoughts and self-endangering behavior" and may induce
"serious neuropsychiatric disorders."
The figures come as it was revealed a retired British general, who took
the drug during service, is currently in a secure psychiatric unit.
Read the rest of this article at - http://rt.com/uk/250169-lariam-mod-mental-illness/
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