The United Kingdom Department of Health's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency advised physicians Tuesday to immediately halt prescribing the antidepressant Seroxat to patients under 18 due to the medication's link to suicidal behavior in children. According to the British government, a clinical trial involving 1,000 patients under the age of 18 revealed that the incidence of suicidal thoughts and severe mood swings was twice as high among Seroxat users as in those taking a placebo. Tuesday's advisory is not legally binding, but doctors are expected to adhere to the warning.

Health officials estimate that physicians have prescribed Seroxat, sold in the United States as Paxil, to over 8,000 patients under the age of 18 in the past year even though the medication is not licensed for children. Seroxat is pharmaceutical maker GlaxoSmithKline's second largest selling drug behind the asthma medication Advair.