Depressed? A sip of water might be just the thing to lift your spirits. In the uk, rivers as well as groundwater reserves are teeming with the antidepressant Prozac, reveals an Environment Agency report. Experts say the drug gets into the rivers and water system via treated sewage water. The revelation also hints at the massive subscription of the drug by the people of the county. Liberal Democrats' environment spokesman, Norman Baker, has expressed concern over what seems like "a case of hidden mass medication upon the unsuspecting public". He says: "It is alarming that there is no monitoring of levels of Prozac and other pharmacy residues in our drinking water." Environmentalists are calling for an urgent investigation into the evidence. A spokesman for the Drinking Water Inspectorate (dwi) said the Prozac found was most likely highly diluted. The dwi said the Prozac (known technically as fluoxetine) was unlikely to pose a health risk as it was so "watered down". The revelations, however, occasion new fears over the number of prescriptions for the drug given out by doctors. According to the national daily Observer, in the decade leading up to 2001, the number of prescriptions for antidepressants went up from nine million per year to 24 million per year. According to the Environment Agency report, the Prozac in the water table could be potentially toxic. It has dubbed the drug as a "potential concern".
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