That awful cigarette smoke does it again,

WASHINGTON - Treating depression and other mental disorders in U.S. children cost $8.9 billion in 2006, making mental illness the most expensive condition to treat in childhood, U.S. government researchers reported on Wednesday.

An estimated 4.6 million children were treated for mental disorders in 2006 at an average cost of $1,931 per child, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported.

But more children were treated for asthma than any other disease or injury, the AHRQ found. It said nearly 13 million children were treated for asthma in 2006 at an average cost of $621 for a total of $8 billion.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30351622/

I wonder what percentage of the cause of depression and other mental disorders in U.S. children is a result of parental use of wacky tobacca and similar drugs?

The tremendous increase in diagnosed mental disorders in children over the past 30+ years seems to parallel the tremendous increase in illegal drug use.


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