The Army's use of anti-malarial drug Lariam places cost above safety
There is no mystery to the Ministry of Defence’s continued use of the anti-malarial drug Lariam. It comes in at half, or a third, of the price of the alternatives. The cost borne by those troops given the drug, however, can be high. A string of warnings that Lariam can induce psychotic episodes, even suicide, has convinced the United States military – along with those of Germany, Denmark and Canada – to ban Lariam, or offer it only as a “last resort”. The MoD’s persistence in giving out the drug as standard practice places the health of its accounts above that of the men and women it has a duty to protect. It amounts to a shameful case of neglect.