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

UK medicines watchdog advises GPs to ‘taper’ doses for patients who want to stop taking the drugs

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.