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Ministers declare war on Britain's tranquilliser crisis (BENZOS)


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Ministers declare war on Britain's tranquilliser crisis

By Brian Brady, Whitehall Editor

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Decades of over-prescribing by GPs of drugs such as Valium have created 1.5 million 'involuntary addicts'

 

Ministers are poised to demand a dramatic reduction in the millions of tranquillisers prescribed in the UK every year, amid growing concerns about the long-term effects on patients who become addicted to them.

 

A review of the problem of patient addiction - campaigners claim about 1.5 million people are affected - is expected to recommend a huge decrease in the availability of benzodiazepine tranquillisers, including Valium.

 

The last government ordered a review of addictive drugs supplied on prescription or over the counter, after reports that patients were becoming dependent on them, sometimes for decades. Critics claim too many doctors habitually prescribe them for stress, when alternative treatments, such as counselling and other "talking therapies", are more effective.

 

The coalition government has responded to the demand for reform, which could see millions shaved off the NHS budget. A Department of Health source said last night that the junior public health minister, Anne Milton, was "deeply sympathetic" to the plight of "involuntary tranquilliser addicts".

 

"This is something ministers have been concerned about for years. It is clear that too many of these drugs are being prescribed and that there are alternative treatments," the source said.

 

British doctors first began to prescribe benzodiazepines in significant numbers in the 1960s, when they were viewed as a benign treatment, becoming known by many as "mother's little helpers". Prescriptions peaked at more than 30 million a year in the late 1970s.

 

Years later, evidence emerged that they were addictive and that prolonged use causes symptoms which could result in patients being unable to work.

 

Now there is growing concern that prescriptions are rising again. Government figures show pharmacists dispensed almost 11.5 million prescriptions in 2008. The true figure will be higher, as this does not include prescriptions dispensed in hospitals. The total cost to the NHS of benzodiazepine addiction is put at up to £8bn a year.

 

The NHS estimates there are up to 200,000 illicit users of benzodiazepines - or "benzos" as they are known - in the UK, and their attractiveness as a street drug has sparked a thriving online trade. Frequently used as "uppers", or "downers" together with other drugs, they are listed as class-C drugs under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act.

 

But patients given lawful prescriptions for medical conditions who subsequently became addicted are causing greatest concern.

 

Dan Orgill, who was prescribed Librium for panic attacks five years ago, said the symptoms experienced while taking the drugs were far worse than his original complaint.

 

"I hold my hands up to the fact that I am an addict - but I am an addict because of the doctors," he said. "I got myself clean, and now I'm debilitated. I want to live without these drugs and without the withdrawal."

 

The IoS understands that government advisers have warned ministers they must prepare for a "short-term financial hit" if they want to drive through reforms, as NHS trusts need to increase alternative therapies if tranquilliser prescribing is to be slashed. They insist that reform would reap benefits in the form of financial savings and improved health for hundreds of thousands of people.

 

Michael Behan, of the campaign group Beat the Benzos, said more support for addicts attempting drug withdrawal was needed. "Withdrawal can take anything up to two years. People need constant reassurance," he said. "They get very ill during the process. They get anxious."

 

Mr Behan, a former teacher, was prescribed Ativan to treat his anxiety in 1981 and ended up being addicted for seven years. "I thought it was medicine. You can become addicted in about 10 days, but it can take you two years to get off them."

 

The Labour MP Jim Dobbin, chair of the all-party group on involuntary tranquilliser addiction, said: "If the Government is looking for ways of reducing the tax burden and getting people off benefits, this is an area they really must look to. There are about 1.5 million people across the country who have this problem, and many have had it for more than 20 years. If you tot that up, with the cost of support and benefits, quite apart from the human cost to people and their families, it is a huge amount of money."

 

Ms Milton said last night: "The department is currently reviewing all the scientific research and evidence on medicine addictions. We will also get more details about the prescribing of some drugs within the NHS and what treatment services are available, should people become addicted. I hope that, by the end of the year, we'll have the information we need to better help people who are addicted to painkillers and tranquillisers."

 

Additional reporting by Pavan Amara

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Thank you! I've been wondering when America is going to catch up to other countries? We claim to have such a better health care system than our friends in GB, when are we going to prove it and stop having this crap handed out like it was candy?
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Thank you for sharing this, Gianna. I am so glad to see someone with power stepping in to help others like us. I hope the US follows suit!
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thnks gianna

this article made me weep. i've been thinking about this crime all morning...the one that so many of us have been suckered into........v.

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  • 3 weeks later...
I hope we do not end up in the situation where people are forced off their benzodiazepines, and worse, over a relatively short period of time. This is probably cost-cutting exercise, but in the short-term the provision of suitable support during withdrawal will cost more. Additionally, there will be costs associated with alternative talking therapies.
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those are excellent points Colin...

 

I share your concern...I don't think anyone should be forced off benzos...

 

If people aren't ready for withdrawal it should be considered cruel and inhumane punishment to force it on someone.

 

 

 

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Prescribing less benzodiazepines is undoubtedly the correct course of action. Providing help and support to aid those already dependent to quit is also the right thing to do. However, it indeed would be inhumane to force those dependent (through no fault of their own) through a protracted and difficult withdrawal.

 

Those that would like to quit should be given every opportunity to do this and provided with good and ongoing support. If this is the plan, this could be great. If the focus is saving money, it could be disastrous. If you are not British, you might not appreciate the incredible squeeze that is taking place on public finances over here. Although health is supposedly "ring-fenced" from the cuts, the reality will be quite different.

 

Where possible, I am not ideologically opposed to the government seeking savings from the health system. The public finances are such that huge cuts in government spending is inevitable, but I fear that sick and vulnerable people will be forced into benzodiazepine withdrawal. The new government have already demonstrated that they are not adverse to loading the worst of the forthcoming cuts upon those that already have the least.

 

I don't run BenzoBuddies as a campaigning website. I made the decision that we could either concentrate on campaigning for change, or provide support. It becomes complicated when we try to do both. However, I will probably feel differently if I conclude that the proposed changes amount to nothing more than an attack on the vulnerable. I hope I'm being cynical about their motives and they will make the resources available to do this properly.

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