by Dr. Lawrence Diller, Author of Running On Ritalin
"Adderall represents a triumph of American marketing know-how. Adderall was introduced about 4 years ago as a "new" drug option for ADHD. Adderall is simply an old drug "Obertral" that was taken off the market in 1981, because at that time the FDA ruled that an amphetamine (which is what Adderall is) could no longer be prescribed for weight control because it was ineffective and too many people (women) became addicted to it. Dexedrine (which is also an amphetamine) has been available for 40 years in this country. The Medical Letter, the most respected newsletter on drugs and therapeutics, reviewed Adderall and stated "it adds nothing new" to the choices for ADHD. The only remarkable thing about Adderall is the amount of promotion and advertising directed at physicians. It has reached new levels of "hype" activity in terms of its assault on doctors. That said, the amphetamine group represents a reasonable alternative to Ritalin. But as you can tell, I'm not a fan of Adderall because of the disingenuousness of their campaign."
Read Dr. Diller's entire transcript here at ABC News. (direct link to transcript)