Prozac in drinking water

For some of us, antidepressant drugs are only as far away as our kitchen faucet.

You may have heard about the recent report from the UK that traces of Prozac have been found in the drinking water there. Needless to say, British environmentalists are nearly apoplectic, as well they should be.

Apparently Prozac finds its way into the water system by way of treated sewage water. Or you might call it not-treated-enough sewage water. But whatever you call it, there’s no getting around the fact that Prozac in tap water has already been ingested and digested by someone else.

Not exactly what you would call “jolly good!”

According to the BBC, a Drinking Water Inspectorate spokesman said that the Prozac was “most likely highly diluted.” Wow “Most likely.” THAT’S reassuring!

One of the disturbing aspects of this very disturbing situation, is the fact that Prozac is one of the drugs that appears on the Beers List. So whether they want to or not, elderly people in Britain may be picking up a little Prozac in their afternoon tea.

Meanwhile, back here in the U.S., we’ve had Prozac in our waterways for months already.

In the e-Alert “Air Freshener” (11/5/03), I told you about Bryan Brooks, a Baylor University toxicologist, who discovered traces of Prozac’s active ingredient (fluoxetine) in the tissue of blue gill fish in a lake in Dallas, Texas. Brooks speculated that the fluoxetine made its way from the urine of Prozac users, through a water treatment plant, and into the lake.

So there’s your proof – from England to east Texas – what goes around comes around.

Over the past few years, worldwide sales of Prozac have totaled well over $2 billion per year. I think I’ll have the distilled water, please.

Sources:

“Prozac ‘Found in Drinking Water'” BBC News, 8/8/04, news.bbc.co.uk
“Fish on Prozac? How Depressing!” MSNBC, 10/23/03, msnbc.com