Reduced prescription of benzodiazepine preparations in general practice. Much to gain with little effort

Many patients experience side effects from prolonged use of benzodiazepines and analgesics containing codeine. Therefore 66 daily users of these drugs (average dose before intervention 34 DDD/month) were encouraged to take part in a cessation experiment. They were told that a large share of their symptoms which were the indication for benzodiazepines and analgesics might be side effects from this medication. They were also given a cessation plan. Over two years the prescriptions (measured in DDD) for this group were reduced by 57%, and 26% of the patients stopped taking these medicines. A strategy is proposed for cessation of use of benzodiazepines and codeine-containing analgesics in general practice.