A CHARITY has developed an action plan to help people suffering withdrawal from the anti-depressant drug Seroxat.

Thousands of users of Seroxat, including many in the North-East and North Yorkshire, have reported withdrawal effects, from head pains to suicidal tendencies.

Some users say it has taken them years to come off the drug, which is manufactured by pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and, in desperation, have developed their own withdrawal plans.

But the Council for Involuntary Tranquilliser Addiction (CITA), in Liverpool, says it has developed a number of safe withdrawal programmes in conjunction with Dr David Healy, director of the North Wales department of psychological medicine, at the University of Wales.

The programmes include switching from Seroxat to Prozac or using the herbal remedy St John's Wort.

Pam Armstrong, a CITA advisor, said reducing dosages before switching to Prozac had proved the most successful.

She said: "Sometimes they work very well for people but, to me, it is against the objective if you cannot get off it."

More than 4,000 people, who are demanding a change in literature which says the drug is non-addictive, are considering a joint legal bid against GSK.

But the company maintains that there is no scientific evidence that use of the drug leads to addiction.

A working party, which includes the Department of Health's executive body, the Medicines Control Agency, is looking at the effects of all the drugs known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, including Seroxat.

A spokesman for GSK said: "GlaxoSmithKline works with the regulatory authorities on an ongoing basis to evaluate the safety and efficacy of all our medicines, based on the most recent data, and this review is part of that continuous dialogue."

CITA can be contacted on 0151-932 0102 between 10am and 4pm on weekdays, and between 10am and 1pm on weekends.

Alternatively, Ms Armstrong can be contacted on 0151-286 9898.