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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Gregory Health editor

Antidepressants ‘should be reduced in stages’ to avoid withdrawal symptoms

Antidepressant pills in the head of a gingerbread man cookie cutter.
A staggered reduction of medicine, known as tapering, helps to reduce withdrawal effects and long-term dependence on the medication, according to Nice. Photograph: Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

GPs whose patients want to stop taking antidepressants should reduce the dose of their medication in stages to lower the risk and severity of withdrawal symptoms, the medicines watchdog has said.

About one in six (16%) adult Britons experience moderate to severe depression, according to the Office for National Statistics. In England alone, 21.4m antidepressant drugs were prescribed between July and September 2022, according to the NHS Business Services Authority.

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