Benzodiazepines facts and Battle Against Tranquilisers (BAT) services

What are benzodiazepines (bzs)?

Benzodiazepines are a family of drugs prescribed primarily for anxiety and insomnia. They affect the nervous system by reduction of anxiety, for sleeplessness and muscle relaxation . Benzodiazepines include Diazepam, Temazepam, Nitrazepam, Lorazepam, and benzo-like drugs such as Zopiclone, Zolpidem and Zaleplon.

Background:

· The British National Formulary advise that benzodiazepines are prescribed for a maximum of 2- 4 weeks, because of their potential for addiction.

· Despite this, between 2-3% of every GP’s adult patients take benzodiazepines for longer than six months.

· 1.5 million prescriptions for bzs are issued each year.

· Benzodiazepines are Class C drugs.

· The insidious effects of benzodiazepines are frequently misdiagnosed; the fact that they cause mental health problems is too often not recognised.

· According to the Dept. of Health - up to 90% of heroin users also use benzodiazepines. Others who use illicit substances or problem drink, also overwhelmingly use benzodiazepines.

· It is increasingly recognised that benzodiazepines are harder to come off

than heroin. “Coming off heroin was a piece of cake. Why didn’t anyone

warn me about the benzos?” BAT service user.

· National Treatment Agency (NTA): “In view of the major role they (benzodiazepines) play in the field of drug misuse, services must be able to accommodate and treat benzodiazepine use.”

Consequences of taking benzodiazepines:

1. Increased risk of accidents - traffic, home, work.

2. Increased risks from overdose if combined with other drugs.

3. Increased risk of attempted suicide, especially in depression.

4. Increased risk of aggressive behaviour and assault.

5. Increased risk of shoplifting and other anti-social acts.

6. Contributions to marital/domestic disharmony, (due to emotional and cognitive impairment.

7. Contributions to job loss, unemployment,

8. Cost of hospital investigations/consultations/admissions

9. Dependence and abuse potential.

10. Costs of drug prescriptions.

11. Costs of litigation.

(Some Socio-economic Costs of Long-Term Benzodiazepine Use: Professor Heather Ashton, Psychiatric Annals (1995))

Professor Steven Field, Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said:

“We now try to prescribe (benzodiazepines) only for a few days because we know that it's very difficult to get people off these drugs, but there are still a lot of people on benzodiazepines and tranquilisers that have been on for many years…..the patient doesn't want to come off the drug because they've tried before and they get all of these horrible withdrawal side effects which are very similar to coming off heroin or cocaine and indeed in my experience it can be more difficult to get people off benzodiazepines.

What we’ve got to try to do is work with the patient to bring them off very slowly and very gradually, but the best thing to do is to not prescribe them in the first place…..some of the drugs, in some people, it can be three or four days of the drug before they get hooked. And what you find is that they can't have a day without them. They start to get very anxious, very sweaty, very panicky. In others it's even worse - it's not just that they can't do a day without them they need two or three or more, to actually keep them calm. So each patient is very different. Bringing people off the drug is very different and you have to do it slowly and really tailor it to the patient.”
(ITV West interview, March 09)

Battle Against Tranquilisers (BAT)

Our aims and what we do:

· To provide direct services: to users and carers: through support groups, drop-ins (both bz-specific and partnership generic), home visits, telephone helpline, dual diagnosis, website question and answer facility and specialist support for other agencies/ workers.

· To educate and inform: through partnership working, training (including post-graduate accredited training), policy development, profile-raising of the issues through media, presentations, website, drug and alcohol and mental health conference planning and input, keynote speaking at conferences (mental health/drug and alcohol).

BAT aims, through education and training, to reduce prescribing by raising awareness.

BAT is the only organisation of its kind that works with clients who take benzodiazepines etc, both on prescription and those who take the drugs illicitly. It’s also the only agency that offers specific training and support to organisations/workers, whose clients/patients experience the problems of benzodiazepine use and withdrawal.

Many national and local organisations signpost people to BAT for specialist tranquilliser help. These include NHS Direct, National Drugs Helpline, Mind, Sane, and The Samaritans.

Who we are:

BAT is a user-led, user-sensitive registered charity, based in Bristol. Several ex-benzodiazepine users, and carers of users, are on BAT’s management committee.

For more information about both benzodiazepines and BAT visit www.bataid.org

(Website recommended by the Substance Misuse Management in General Practice ( SMMGP ))