Less than two months after ruling that the drug maker GlaxoSmithKline could not advertise its depression and anxiety medication Paxil as "non-habit forming," a federal judge reversed her decision last week. In late August, U.S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer determined that Paxil advertisements were misleading, saying they "created inaccurate expectations about the ease of withdrawal from the drug." But Pfaelzer reconsidered her ruling after U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials argued that after studying the medication's side effects, the FDA agreed that the commercials were accurate. According to the FDA, Paxil is not habit forming because it does not cause "drug-seeking behavior."

The ruling comes one year after 35 former Paxil users filed a class-action lawsuit against Glaxo, alleging the medication led to "severe withdrawal reactions." Glaxo changed Paxil's label in December 2001 to warn of possible withdrawal problems in users but continued to run commercials claiming the drug is not habit-forming.