With the publication of “Pfizer tells scientists’ stories in new campaign” (June 19), the time has come to shine a “spotlight” on the dark side of the pharmaceutical industry and, more specifically, the psychotropic medicines (negative life-altering treatments) it produces, which are sometimes devastating or deadly. As one who suffered through 21 years of devastating debilitation caused by unnecessary, harsh psychotropic medications, due to inaccurate diagnoses by psychiatrists, I find this article offensive and incomplete.

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), in various documentaries and publications, highlights the negative effects of psychotropic medications. The CCHR reports that these FDA-approved drugs often lead to premature death due to serious medical conditions, including suicide, drug addiction and gun violence. Furthermore, contrary to the naive belief that scientists are universally making a positive difference in people’s lives, the CCHR reports that psychotropic drugs now kill an estimated 42,000 people every year, at a huge cost to society.

Before prescribing psychotropic drugs, many psychiatrists assign a mental illness based on a subjective checklist, without first obtaining, and subsequently monitoring, vital signs, and often without ordering lab tests or brain scans to eliminate the possibility of medical conditions. Without scientific medical data, it’s impossible to trace the origins of physical conditions or negative behaviors that may arise from the effects of the psychotropic medicines.

Pfizer scientist Mark Noe states in the article that “creating a medicine is like solving a very complex jigsaw puzzle,” and sometimes, “It’s time to start all over…” using a different approach.

A truly different approach must be more realistic with regard to the drastic negative effects of these drugs. It should also involve consideration of the potential harm when multiple drugs are prescribed in parallel. Necessary is more scientific research and clinical studies of psychotropic drugs.

Roberta M. Helming lives in Ledyard.