Background
History
Battle Against Tranquillisers began as a self-help unfunded group in 1985. The need for such a group quickly became apparent. Bristol Drug Project contacted them within a few weeks of opening, to offer the use of a room. The reason was that so many people who contacted the Project were also taking benzodiazepines.
In 1991 BAT won the Association of British Insurers Regional Gold Medal for Medical Services to the Community.
In 1994 a local GP contacted BAT to hold a series of consultations with patients who had been taking benzodiazepines long-term. This was because she had noticed that older patients who fell and fractured bones, seemed almost always to be taking these drugs.
The following year (1995) BAT was placed on a firmer foundation and started to be funded from a number of sources. It is now a registered charity and company limited by guarantee. Jean Corston, a local Member of Parliament, is patron.
Development
BAT's influence has continued to grow steadily. Over the past five years the number of people using its services has tripled. 65% of clients are now referred by statutory services as opposed to only 46% in 1998. Around 80% of clients receive help through group meetings as opposed to the helpline or individual sessions. This proportion has increased over the years and reflects our belief that self-help groups are the most effective way of educating and supporting benzodiazepine users.
As well as helping users, BAT has continued to offer presentations and training sessions to health professionals and anyone else who has an interest in benzodiazepine dependency. This policy has led to a number of referrals and an increased awareness of the problem. Many professionals find that "the penny drops" with respect to their own observations of patients and clients taking these kinds of drug. Previously unexplained behaviour and symptoms suddenly fall into place.
BAT is finding itself increasingly involved in the issue of illicit drug use. Users of "hard" drugs are increasingly using benzodiazepines and similar drugs to control their moods. This can have very unfortunate effects, especially when trying to withdraw from drugs. Many withdrawal programmes for hard drugs insist that the user comes off all drugs, including benzodiazepines, relatively quickly. Problems encountered in withdrawing from the benzodiazepines can effectively sabotage attempts to withdraw from the other drugs.
The future
It might be expected that as awareness of the problems of taking benzodiazepines increases, the need for organisations like BAT will decrease. Unfortunately the evidence from Department of Health figures shows that the number of prescriptions for tranquillisers and sleeping pills is still increasing. Word of mouth reports suggest that repeat prescribing is still rife as is prescription of these drugs for inappropriate conditions. The old mistakes are being made over and over again as new drugs are promoted. The situation with illicit use of benzodizepines continues to get worse. Unfortunately it seems that Battle Against Tranquillisers will have to fight on for some years yet!