The Beyond Pills All-Party Parliamentary Group has expressed serious concern over the publication and promotion of a recent study claiming that antidepressant withdrawal is largely mild, brief and overstated. (Incidence and Nature of Antidepressant Discontinuation Symptoms, A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, Kalfas et al, JAMA Psychiatry 2025).
This paper, whose authors include several researchers with financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry, was promoted to the media through a tightly controlled press briefing organised by the Science Media Centre (SMC), an organisation that has attracted controversy for receiving considerable funding from the pharmaceutical industry.
The study draws its conclusions from mostly short-term clinical trials (most lasting only eight weeks). This approach fails to reflect the experiences of millions who take antidepressants for years (half of antidepressant users have been taking them for longer than two years). Evidence clearly shows that long-term use (two years and over) correlates with greater incidence of withdrawal effects, which can be more severe and prolonged. By excluding most of the real-world data on antidepressant use, the paper delivers a dangerously distorted picture, compounded by the accompanying campaign to the media.
The APPG is concerned that this misleads the public, denies the experiences of the many people harmed by poor prescribing practices, and stalls urgently needed policy reform, risking further harm to patients.
The Beyond Pills APPG calls for full transparency around funding and conflicts of interest in health research communication. We urge the media and policymakers to treat this study with caution. It does not reflect the breadth or severity of lived experience and the APPG remains committed to fighting for those whose suffering continues to be marginalised.
About the Beyond Pills APPG The Beyond Pills APPG aims to move UK healthcare beyond an over-reliance on pills by promoting social prescribing, lifestyle medicine, psychosocial interventions and safe deprescribing. As well as reducing unnecessary and inappropriate prescribing, this integrated approach will improve outcomes and reduce health inequalities.
