Consumer Reports to Parents: Think Twice About Free Prescription ADHD Drug Samples for You... ( Consumers Could Save Roughly $3000 A ...)

Consumer Reports to Parents: Think Twice About Free Prescription ADHD Drug Samples for Your Children

Date:7/8/2009

Consumers Could Save Roughly $3,000 A Year By Switching From Expensive Brand Name Drugs to Equally Effective Generics To Treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

YONKERS, N.Y., July 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- According to a new Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs report, parents should be skeptical if their doctors offer them free prescription drug samples, especially for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Free samples can hook consumers on high-priced brand name drugs that are not any better or safer than less expensive generic medicines. In addition, when doctors give out free samples, they often fail to give patients information inserts that highlight important safety and side effect information.

Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs found that two generic ADHD drugs, dextroamphetamine and methylphenidate, are as safe and effective as well- known drugs like Adderall XR, Concerta or Strattera. By switching to one of those two generic drugs, consumers could save roughly $3,000 a year off the retail price. The report is available for free online at www.ConsumerReportsHealth.org/BestBuyDrugs.

"Parents want to do what is best for their children," says Dr. John Santa, director of the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center. "But free samples and clever advertising convince them they should be shelling out thousands of dollars a year for brand name prescription drugs when equally effective generics are available."

ADHD is one of the most common behavioral problems diagnosed among school-age children in the United States and about 7 percent (about 4.5 million in 2006) of children aged 4 to 17 have been diagnosed with the disorder. When ADHD needs to be treated with medication, parents may be presented with advertisements and fr
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