Conflicts-of-interest in a panel writing guidelines for ADHD in Australia led the government to halt distribution of the recommendations according to the Australian press. Seven of the nine doctors on the panel received a gift of some form -- meals, international travel, hotels -- from drug companies. The one person who was not a doctor undertook a book tour, paid for by Eli Lilly, maker of Straterra. The Daily Telegraph writes the panel
"endorsed Ritalin, Strattera and other ADHD drugs as the "first-line treatment" for children. They have warned parents to ignore alternative treatments, such as diet and exercise, citing a lack of evidence as to their benefits.Their report comes as the prescription rates for ADHD drugs has soared by 43.4 per cent in the past 12 months."
