PEOPLE in East Lancashire suffering from anxiety and insomnia are more likely to be prescribed a drug linked to addiction and abuse than anywhere else in England, figures have revealed.

Now the area's three primary care trusts are drawing up plans to reduce the number of people still receiving benzodiazepines, such as Diazepam and Nitrazepam.

They were introduced in the 1960s and became what medics describe as a 'panacea for all problems' before it became apparent, through a series of studies, they were addictive and had serious long-term side effects.

Since the 1980s doctors have stopped prescribing them to new patients, but many have carried on handing them out to people already taking them.

And because East Lancashire had a high number of people already hooked on the drug - a factor blamed on the area's long-term social-economic problems - it is still being prescribed in large amounts.

Figures compiled for PCTs nationally show that East Lancashire has the highest rate of benzodiazepines in England. Most GPs prescribe the drug above the national average.

Between April 2001 and March 2002 more than 175,000 tablets were prescribed in Blackburn with Darwen PCT alone.

Dr Stephen Morton, from the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley PCT, said: "The problem stems from the fact that it was considered at the time to be a solution to all anxieties.

"The areas still with the highest prescription rates are all similar areas which have problems with deprivation and poverty and a loss of traditional jobs.

"Getting people off them can be very difficult, which is why it is such a problem, but there are alternatives."

A report by Blackburn with Darwen's PCT revealed that chronic usage of the drug can lead to both depression and 'emotional blunting' which locks a user into a permanent emotional state, such as depression - often the reason they were given it in the first place.

Other side effects include aggressive outbursts, psychotic manifestations, nervousness and irritability. The sleepy effect of the drug has also been implicated in traffic accidents while elderly people taking them are more prone to falling over.

What has made it so hard to get people off them is the withdrawal symptoms - including anxiety, insomnia, headache, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting.

Now GPs in the area are being encouraged to talk to patients about their prescriptions. At two GP practices - where patients were sent letters informing them about the drug - 31per cent of patients consulted their doctors, while 10per cent had their drug changed or reduced in strength.

In those two practices, there was a 17per cent reduction in benzodiazepines, compared with five per cent elsewhere.

It is now planned to replicate the scheme across East Lancashire, with PCTs planning to employ staff dedicated to helping the most addicted off a drug which is wrecking their lives.