World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day

Background
World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day (W-BAD) was established in 2016 to help raise awareness about doctor induced benzodiazepine dependency. It is observed on July 11 each year which is the birthday of Chrystal C Heather Ashton, DM, FRCP, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psycho-pharmacology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Recognition
A resolution was filed in the Massachusetts State House in June 2016 to give official recognition to World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day in Massachusetts and efforts are underway for the same in other US States. A motion was put forward in the British Parliament on 29 June 2016 giving acknowledgment to World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day.
Objectives
# To gain governmental and medical recognition that “doctor induced benzodiazepine dependency” is a massive global problem that needs urgent addressing (these are innocent everyday people taking as prescribed - see language use)
# To raise public awareness about this decades old problem that has been continuously swept under the carpet by global governments.
# To encourage the establishment of a mandatory maximum prescribing period of no more than 4 weeks (based on the Committee on Safety of Medicines' 2-4 week prescribing guidelines).
# To encourage the establishment of ‘specialized’ withdrawal facilities for those who so desperately need them.
# To encourage the implementation of the much needed fully funded research to thoroughly investigate the long term health implications of prescribed
# benzodiazepines and z drugs. To encourage the provision of proper training for doctors and medical staff and to
# help them learn more about the serious implications of benzodiazepines.
# To provide victims with a sense of purpose and the opportunity to unify, so that they aren’t left alone in the dark, as has been the case for much too long.
# To give recognition to those who haven’t survived and to those who have been abandoned; left alone to suffer (to give them a voice).
# To commemorate Prof. Ashton for all that she has contributed to the cause over so many decades (July 11 is her birthday).
Slogan and logo
The slogan for World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day (W-BAD) is “Change through Unity” in recognition of the fact that change will likely only come from the people banding together after decades of governments seeping the issue under the political carpets. The logo includes the symbol of unity and the globe, reflecting the fact that dependency to these prescribed drugs is a global issue.
Information
World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day (W-BAD) was initially housed at www.benzo-case-japan.com/world-bz-day for the inaugural 2016 event, but will have its own dedicated website (TBD) to serve the public from 2017 onward.
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