Educating communities on dangers of prescribed benzodiazepines
Endorsements help us to reduce the tragic human suffering
W-BAD welcomes endorsements from health professionals to lend credibility to our cause. We also welcome support from other high profile public figures to take our message into the mainstream where we can be more effective in raising critical awareness and minimizing costs to society. If you would like to endorse W-BAD, please contact us.
Thanks to everyone’s efforts, World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day (W-BAD) now stands as an annual day of recognition and commemoration.
I deeply appreciate everything that is being done to call attention to the scourge of benzodiazepine dependency, and in doing so, to stand up for the millions of people, who through no fault of their own, have suffered and continue to suffer in its grip. I congratulate everyone for the progress made over the decades, latterly through the work on W-BAD. I extend my very best wishes for the progression of this excellent campaign.
I know countless of others are fighting in the same struggle – a few known to me but many not – and I salute all of them with the same gratitude, respect and warmth.
World Benzodiazepine Awareness day has become an annual event, a development that I welcome and endorse. Too often interest is stimulated in an on-going and difficult medical problem only to subside as people move on to something else. The problem of iatrogenic, normal-dose benzodiazepine dependence is not lessening; concern must continue and even increase. I thank those who are involved for this initiative.
Benzodiazepines have become a plague on humanity, causing harm to the brains and bodies of millions of people and inflicting severe withdrawal reactions. People, who have taken these medications long-term, too often suffer from lasting adverse effects.
This website and World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day helps spread the word about the dangers of these drugs. It also provides inspiring examples of people, who are battling through withdrawal, as they seek to highlight the dangers to us all.
With the right help, many people can go on to recover, and to live good and satisfying lives.
My book, Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal, describes why and how to safely withdraw from benzodiazepines and from other psychiatric drugs.
I wholly support W-BAD and I sincerely hope that W-BAD will be successful in persuading doctors, patients and politicians of the seriousness of this problem. There is, tragically, still a real need for action.
I first drew attention to the addictive nature of benzodiazepines in 1973 and campaigned in the media and medical literature for decades. There was much opposition from the medical establishment. In 1988 the British Government warned doctors and recommended the benzodiazepines be prescribed for no more than 2 weeks. The Government stated it had taken action because of my campaign. It is appalling that there is still a massive problem with these drugs which are more addictive than heroin. I am delighted to support your campaign – though sad that there is still a need for it after all these years.