Among medications, antidepressants take the prize for inciting public and media mood swings. Whether celebrated as depression-busting happy pills or dismissed as overrated and apt to cause dangerous side effects, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have taken pharmaceutical firms on a financial joy ride. Since their U.S. introduction in 1989, they’ve become the best-selling medication of any kind, reaping an estimated $10 billion annually in worldwide sales.
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