The successful ‘benzodiazepine withdrawal programme’ project was made permanent on 21 March 2025. Certain outpatients who chronically take benzodiazepines or Z-drugs can take part in the programme. This programme is based on the officinal preparation of capsules following a doctor's prescription.
The long-term use of benzodiazepines and Z-drugs is reaching alarming levels in Belgium. Their use can lead to nervous system disorders (drowsiness, anterograde amnesia, etc.), psychiatric disorders (abnormal behaviour, hallucinations, sleepwalking, etc.) and a greater risk of falls among the elderly. To reverse this long-term use and overconsumption trend, a benzodiazepine project was launched in February 2023 to help patients gradually stop taking these medicines. The budget for this initiative was provided by the Ministry of Health and the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (NIHDI). This multi-disciplinary programme involving the patient, prescriber and pharmacist enables gradual discontinuation over 50 to 360 days, or stabilisation at the lowest possible dose through a magistral preparation. After a successful trial period, this withdrawal project has now been definitively implemented.
Patients wanting to participate must meet the following conditions:
• be at least 18 years old;
• have given informed consent to share health data (via eHealth);
• follow the programme as an outpatient (not in a nursing home or other care facility), at the same pharmacy (of the patient's choice) for the duration of the programme;
• chronic use (≥ 3 months) of a single benzodiazepine or related substance (Z-drug) in a once-daily dose not exceeding three times the DDD (Defined Daily Dose);
• the patient is only entitled to reimbursement for one withdrawal programme*.
*Withdrawal is not entirely free for the patient, who must still pay for medical consultations and for the packaging of the speciality used to make the officinal preparation.
Further information on practical aspects for prescribers and pharmacists can be found in the February 2023 issue of Folia Pharmacotherapeutica.
The CBIP is also planning an e-learning course on benzodiazepine withdrawal for doctors and pharmacists.
Practical information on withdrawal is also available in a guide for doctors and pharmacists, commissioned by FPS Health.
For useful, reliable and scientifically based information on psychotropic drugs, visit www.usagepsychotropes.be.