Benzodiazepines, antidepressants and addiction: A plea for conceptual rigor and consistency

The editorial by Jauhar et al. (2019) discusses the recently published concerns about “addiction” to antidepressants (mainly serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors) in light of an increasing number of publications addressing antidepressant withdrawal symptoms. They (Jauhar et al., 2019) ask a crucial question (“Are antidepressants addictive?”), examine conceptual and methodological issues and arrive at a conclusion that “there is minimal evidence, using established classification systems and concepts, that antidepressants should be classified as addictive substances” (p.657). We agree with their conclusion that antidepressants are not addictive and that the main argument invoked in support of addiction to antidepressants – the presence of withdrawal symptoms – is not valid. However, we would like to point that the same standard