The Story of the Benzodiazepine Drugs

January 30, 2025 by Doctor Vernon Coleman

I've been campaigning for stronger controls on the benzodiazepine tranquillisers and sleeping tablets for most of my professional life. I qualified as a doctor in 1970 and first became aware of the size of the problem associated with the benzodiazepines back in 1973.

At the time I was spending part of my week in the midlands, where I worked as a part time assistant in general practice, and part of it in London where I worked as executive editor of the British Clinical Journal, a new monthly medical magazine. I was also busily writing articles and columns for a wide range of newspapers and magazines.

While I'd been at medical school I'd been painfully aware of the power of the drugs industry and my early experience in hospital, and general practice had convinced me that the major drug companies had far too much control over medical education and over doctors' prescribing habits. My anxiety about the techniques used by some of the large drug companies had already caused some controversy - and got me into trouble. In 1972 I had written an article for the Daily Telegraph Magazine (as it was then called) entitled `Hard Sell in the Surgery in which I had complained about the marketing techniques used to sell drugs such as sedatives and tranquillisers. As a result of that article one drug company executive had told the publisher of the British Clinical Journal that his company would only buy advertising space if I was controlled more effectively or, better still, sacked from the magazine.

But I hadn't been sacked (and I hadn't been controlled either) and part of my job was to help in the organisation of the journal's monthly symposium. The journal held one of its symposia every month and published the edited proceedings in a subsequent issue. In April 1973, at the Royal Society of Medicine in Wimpole Street, in London, the title of our symposium for the August issue of the journal was `The Uses and Limitations of Psychotropic Drugs in General Practice’. I attended the symposium as one of the participants though I don't remember making any useful contribution. I was young, inexperienced, fearfully shy and keen to listen and to learn.

The subject of the benzodiazepines came up about half way through the meeting and the critical comments that made me sit up and take notice came from Dr John Bonn who was, at the time, A senior lecturer and consultant psychiatrist at St Bartholomew's and Hackney Hospitals in London. Bonn was deeply suspicious of the benzodiazepines and clearly critical of them. He pointed out that he regularly saw benzodiazepine dependent patients coming to be taken off their drugs and said that he considered that the drugs should only be used on patients who were under close supervision. Two sentences of his stayed in my mind. `When they are taken off benzodiazepines successfully, he said, `many of them say that they feel better than they have felt for years, without any further treatment. They were given the Valium for an original reason, which was no longer valid.’ `The danger of the benzodiazepines is insidious,’ Bonn also said. `These drugs have withdrawal effects very similar to those of barbiturates and/or alcohol, but these withdrawal effects may take much longer to come on.’

Dr John Bonn was, I believe, the first doctor in Britain to warn doctors so clearly about the dangers of these terrible drugs. I am proud that I was editor of the British Clinical Journal at the time and shared the responsibility for publishing his views. Copies of The British Clinical Journal in which that symposium appeared were sent to most if not all British general practitioners.

And a few years later, in 1988, at the 28th sitting of Standing Committee A on the `Health and Medicines Bill’ at the House of Commons, the Minister, replying to questions about lorazepam said: `We have taken action because I have been worried about the problem. Dr Vernon Coleman's articles, to which I refer with approval, raised concern about these important matters, and I sent them on to the appropriate bodies. I do not agree with everything that Dr Coleman says, but much of it is good plain common sense. I always read his column with the greatest interest.’ It’s on the record, in Hansard.

Little did I know then that 50 years later I would still be battling to convince British doctors of the problems associated with the benzodiazepines.

The above essay is taken from Vernon Coleman’s book `The Benzos Story. `The Benzos Story’ is essential reading for doctors, nurses and patients who have any interest in benzodiazepine tranquillisers. To obtain a copy please visit the bookshop on www.vernoncoleman.com

Copyright Vernon Coleman January 2025.