Archive for October 2009

A Day in the life of an Adolescent

31. October 2009 by stationmanager.

   

A Day in the Life of American Adolescents: Substance Use Facts

In the United States in 2006, one third of adolescents aged 12 to 17 drank alcohol in the past year, one fifth used an illicit drug, and one sixth smoked cigarettes.  Although

the percentage of adolescents using alcohol and drugs declined between 2002 and

2006, the percentage of persons aged 12 to 17 receiving substance abuse treatment

has remained relatively stable.  In 2005, 7.7 percent of all persons admitted to

publicly funded treatment facilities were aged 12 to 17.  Office of Applied Studies

(OAS) in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

collects, analyzes, and disseminates critical public health data. OAS manages three

national data collections that offer insight into adolescent substance use and

treatment: the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), the Treatment

Episode Data Set (TEDS), and the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment

Services (N-SSATS). This issue of The OAS Report presents facts about

adolescent substance use, including initiation, and receipt of treatment for substance

use “on an average day. Data presented in this report from the 2006 NSDUH and

the 2005 TEDS are for adolescents aged 12 to 17; data presented from the 2005 N-

SSATS are for youth under 18.


First Substance Use


According to the 2006 NSDUH, 10.6 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 drank

alcohol for the first time in the past year, and 5.8 percent used an illicit drug for the first

time. The 2006 NSDUH also indicates that on an average day during the past year,

 adolescents aged 12 to 17 used the following substances for the first time (Figure 1):

  • 7,970 drank alcohol for the first time;
  • 4,348 used an illicit drug for the first time;
  • 4,082 smoked cigarettes for the first time;
  • 3,577 used marijuana for the first time;
  • 2,517 used pain relievers nonmedically for the first time;
  • 1,603 used inhalants for the first time;
  • 1,281 used hallucinogens for the first time;
  • 909 used cocaine for the first time;
  • 860 used stimulants nonmedically for the first time;
  • 236 used methamphetamine for the first time; and
  • 86 used heroin for the first time.


 Number of Adolescents Aged 12 to 17 Who Used Cigarettes, Alcohol, or Illicit Drugs for the First Time on an Average Day: 2006 NSDUH
Substance Number of Adolescents
Alcohol 7,970
Any Illicit Drug 4,348
Cigarettes 4,082
Marijuana 3,577
Pain Relievers* 2,517
Inhalants 1,603
Hallucinogens 1,281
Cocaine    909
Stimulants*    860

Source: SAMHSA, 2006 NSDUH.


Cigarette, Alcohol, and Illicit Drug Use


According to the 2006 NSDUH, more than 8 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 drank alcohol in the past year, nearly 5 million used an illicit drug, and more than 4 million smoked cigarettes. In addition, on an average day during the past year, adolescents aged 12 to 17 used the following substances (Figure 2):

  • 1,245,240 smoked cigarettes;
  • 630,539 drank alcohol;
  • 586,454 used marijuana;
  • 49,263 used inhalants;
  • 26,645 used hallucinogens;
  • 13,125 used cocaine; and
  • 3,753 used heroin.

Number of Adolescents Aged 12 to 17 Who Used Cigarettes, Alcohol, or Illicit Drugs on an Average Day: 2006 NSDUH
Substance Number of Adolescents
Cigarettes 1,245,240
Alcohol    630,539
Marijuana    586,454
Inhalants      49,263
Hallucinogens      26,645
Cocaine      13,125
Heroin        3,753

Source: SAMHSA, 2006 NSDUH.

The 2006 NSDUH also indicates that:

  • adolescents who used alcohol in the past month drank an average of 4.7 drinks per day on the days they drank; and
  • adolescents who smoked cigarettes in the past month smoked an average of 4.6 cigarettes per day on the days they smoked.


Substance Abuse Treatment


TEDS reported that in 2005 there were 142,646 admissions for adolescents aged 12 to 17 to substance abuse treatment programs (TEDS data come primarily from facilities that receive some public funding). TEDS also indicates that on an average day in 2005, adolescent admissions to treatment presented with the following substances as the primary substance of abuse11 (Figure 3):

  • 255 with marijuana;
  • 72 with alcohol;
  • 24 with stimulants;
  • 10 with cocaine;
  • 7 with opiates; and
  • 7 with other drugs.

Number of Adolescents Aged 12 to 17 Admitted to Publicly Funded Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities on an Average Day, by Primary Substance of Abuse: 2005 TEDS
Substance Number of Adolescents
Marijuana 255
Alcohol   72
Stimulants   24
Cocaine   10
Opiates     7
Other Drugs     7

Source: SAMHSA, 2005 TEDS.

The 2005 TEDS also indicates that on an average day in 2005, the number of adolescent admissions to substance abuse treatment were referred by the following sources12 (Figure 4):

  • 189 by the criminal justice system;
  • 66 by self-referral or referral from other individuals;
  • 43 by schools;
  • 37 by community organizations;
  • 22 by alcohol or drug treatment providers; and
  • 18 by other health care providers.

Number of Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions among Adolescents Aged 12 to 17 on an Average Day, by Principal Source of Referral: 2005 TEDS
Source of Referral Number of Admissions
Criminal Justice System 189
Self or Other Individuals   66
Schools   43
Community Organizations   37
Treatment Providers   22
Other Health Care Providers   18

Source: SAMHSA, 2005 TEDS.

In addition, N-SSATS, which collects information on substance abuse treatment at both publicly and privately funded facilities, reports how many active clients13 under the age of 18 received the following types of substance abuse treatment on an average day in 2005 (Figure 5):

  • 76,240 were clients in outpatient treatment;
  • 10,313 were clients in non-hospital residential treatment; and
  • 1,058 were clients in hospital inpatient treatment.

 Number of Adolescents Under Age 18 Who Were Clients in Publicly or Privately Funded Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities on an Average Day, by Service Type: 2005 N-SSATS
Service Type Number of Adolescents
Outpatient 76,240
Non-hospital Residential 10,313
Hospital Inpatient   1,058

Source: SAMHSA, 2005 N-SSATS.

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National Survey on Drug Use and Health part 3

17. October 2009 by stationmanager.

      Continuing in the theme of providing you with the latest research information, the following just-published data is from the latest survey taken by SAMHSA and encompasses 2008. This is just the  summary data. For the complete report click here. 

     

Initiation of Substance Use (Incidence, or First-Time Use) within the Past 12 Months

   In 2008, an estimated 2.9 million persons aged 12 or older used an illicit drug for the first time within the past 12 months. This averages to almost 8,000 initiates per day and is similar to the estimate for 2007. A majority of these past year illicit drug initiates reported that their first drug was marijuana (56.6 percent). Nearly one third initiated with psychotherapeutics (29.6 percent, including 22.5 percent with pain relievers, 3.2 percent with tranquilizers, 3.0 percent with stimulants, and 0.8 percent with sedatives). A sizable proportion reported inhalants (9.7 percent) as their first illicit drug, and a small proportion used hallucinogens as their first drug (3.2 percent).In 2008, the illicit drug categories with the largest number of past year initiates among persons aged 12 or older were marijuana use (2.2 million) and nonmedical use of pain relievers (2.2 million). These estimates were not significantly different from the numbers in 2007.In 2008, there were 729,000 persons aged 12 or older who had used inhalants for the first time within the past 12 months; 70.4 percent were under age 18 when they first used. There was no significant change in the number of inhalant initiates from 2007 to 2008, but the number in 2008 was significantly lower than the estimate in 2005 (877,000).The number of past year initiates of methamphetamine among persons aged 12 or older was 95,000 in 2008. This estimate was significantly lower than the estimate in 2007 (157,000) and was less than one third of the number estimated in 2004 (318,000).Following substantial drops in initiation between 2002 and 2003, estimates of initiation of Ecstasy and LSD among persons aged 12 or older have increased significantly. Between 2003 and 2008, the number of Ecstasy initiates increased from 642,000 to 894,000, and the number of LSD initiates increased from 200,000 to 394,000.Most (84.6 percent) of the 4.5 million past year alcohol initiates were younger than age 21 at the time of initiation.The number of persons aged 12 or older who smoked cigarettes for the first time within the past 12 months was 2.4 million in 2008, similar to the estimate in 2007 (2.2 million) but significantly higher than the estimate for 2002 (1.9 million). Most new smokers in 2008 were under age 18 when they first smoked cigarettes (58.8 percent); however, the number of persons initiating smoking at age 18 or older increased from about 600,000 in 2002 to 1 million in 2008.

      Youth Prevention-Related Measures

   Perceived risk is measured by NSDUH as the percentage reporting that there is great risk in the substance use behavior. The percentage of youths aged 12 to 17 perceiving great risk in smoking marijuana once or twice a week increased from 51.5 percent in 2002 to 55.0 percent in 2005, but dropped to 53.1 percent in 2008. A decline from 2005 to 2008 also was observed for using LSD once or twice a week (76.2 percent in 2002, 76.1 percent in 2005, and 73.9 percent in 2008). Between 2002 and 2008, the percentages who reported great risk in using alcohol and cigarettes increased. In 2002, 63.1 percent of youths reported great risk in smoking one or more packs of cigarettes per day, and in 2008 the percentage increased to 69.7 percent. In 2002, 38.2 percent reported great risk in binge drinking once or twice a week, and in 2008 the percentage increased to 40.5 percent.Almost half (49.2 percent) of youths aged 12 to 17 reported in 2008 that it would be “fairly easy” or “very easy” for them to obtain marijuana if they wanted some. Around one quarter reported it would be easy to get cocaine (22.1 percent). About one in seven (13.8 percent) indicated that LSD would be “fairly” or “very” easily available, and 13.0 percent reported easy availability for heroin. Between 2002 and 2008, there were declines in the perceived availability for all four drugs.A majority of youths aged 12 to 17 (90.8 percent) in 2008 reported that their parents would strongly disapprove of their trying marijuana or hashish once or twice. Current marijuana use was much less prevalent among youths who perceived strong parental disapproval for trying marijuana or hashish once or twice than for those who did not (4.3 vs. 29.8 percent).In 2008, 11.1 percent of youths aged 12 to 17 reported that they had participated in substance use prevention programs outside of school within the past year. This was lower than the percentage reported in 2002 (12.7 percent). Almost four fifths (78.0 percent) reported having seen or heard drug or alcohol prevention messages from sources outside of school, lower than in 2002 when the percentage was 83.2 percent. The percentage of school-enrolled youths reporting that they had seen or heard prevention messages at school also declined during this period, from 78.8 to 75.9 percent.      

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National Survey on Drug Use and Health part 2

10. October 2009 by stationmanager.

 

As promised, here are SAMHSA’s findings on alcohol use in America. Pretty interesting stuff really. I hope you find it as enlightening as I did.

Alcohol Use

  • Slightly more than half of Americans aged 12 or older reported being current drinkers of alcohol in the 2008 survey (51.6 percent). This translates to an estimated 129.0 million people, which was similar to the 2007 estimate of 126.8 million people (51.1 percent).
  • In 2008, more than one fifth (23.3 percent) of persons aged 12 or older participated in binge drinking. This translates to about 58.1 million people, similar to the estimate in 2007. Binge drinking is defined as having five or more drinks on the same occasion on at least 1 day in the 30 days prior to the survey.
  • In 2008, heavy drinking was reported by 6.9 percent of the population aged 12 or older, or 17.3 million people. This rate was the same as the rate of heavy drinking in 2007. Heavy drinking is defined as binge drinking on at least 5 days in the past 30 days.
  • Among young adults aged 18 to 25 in 2008, the rate of binge drinking was 41.0 percent, and the rate of heavy drinking was 14.5 percent. These rates were similar to the rates in 2007.
  • The rate of current alcohol use among youths aged 12 to 17 was 14.6 percent in 2008, which is lower than the 2007 rate (15.9 percent). Youth binge and heavy drinking rates in 2008 were 8.8 percent (lower than the 9.7 percent rate in 2007) and 2.0 percent, respectively.
  • Past month and binge drinking rates among underage persons (aged 12 to 20) declined between 2002 and 2008. The rate of past month underage drinking declined from 28.8 to 26.4 percent, and the rate of past month binge drinking declined from 19.3 to 17.4 percent.
  • Past month alcohol use rates declined between 2002 and 2008 for those aged 12 or 13 (4.3 to 3.4 percent), 14 or 15 (16.6 to 13.1 percent), 16 or 17 (32.6 to 26.2 percent), and 18 to 20 (51.0 to 48.7 percent).
  • Among persons aged 12 to 20, past month alcohol use rates in 2008 were 17.2 percent among Asians, 19.0 percent among blacks, 22.9 percent among those reporting two or more races, 23.1 percent among Hispanics, 26.4 percent among American Indians or Alaska Natives, and 30.1 percent among whites.
  • In 2008, 56.2 percent of current drinkers aged 12 to 20 reported that their last use of alcohol in the past month occurred in someone else’s home, and 29.6 percent reported that it had occurred in their own home. About one third (30.8 percent) paid for the alcohol the last time they drank, including 8.3 percent who purchased the alcohol themselves and 22.3 percent who gave money to someone else to purchase it. Among those who did not pay for the alcohol they last drank, 37.4 percent got it from an unrelated person aged 21 or older, 21.1 percent from another person under 21 years of age, and 21.0 percent from a parent, guardian, or other adult family member.
  • In 2008, an estimated 12.4 percent of persons aged 12 or older drove under the influence of alcohol at least once in the past year. This percentage has dropped since 2002, when it was 14.2 percent. The rate of driving under the influence of alcohol was highest among persons aged 21 to 25 (26.1 percent).

We will provide additional findings from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health in future posts as time and money permit. Please stay tuned.

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National Survey on Drug Use and Health part 1

3. October 2009 by stationmanager.

I found some information just recently published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, SAMHSA, which is a division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This information is from the latest National Survey on Drug use and Health for 2008. It is a  pretty exhaustive study but enlightening nevertheless.  This is not the place to go into the details of the full report but, I thought you might be interested in the Highlights which are presented below. If you would prefer to view the entire report follow the underlined link.

This report presents the first information from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an annual survey sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The survey is the primary source of information on the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the United States aged 12 years old or older. The survey interviews approximately 67,500 persons each year. Unless otherwise noted, all comparisons in this report described using terms such as “increased,” “decreased,” or “more than” are statistically significant at the .05 level.

Illicit Drug Use

  • In 2008, an estimated 20.1 million Americans aged 12 or older were current (past month) illicit drug users, meaning they had used an illicit drug during the month prior to the survey interview. This estimate represents 8.0 percent of the population aged 12 years old or older. Illicit drugs include marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack), heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, or prescription-type psychotherapeutics used nonmedically.
  • The rate of current illicit drug use among persons aged 12 or older in 2008 (8.0 percent) was the same as the rate in 2007 (8.0 percent).
  • Marijuana was the most commonly used illicit drug (15.2 million past month users). Among persons aged 12 or older, the rate of past month marijuana use in 2008 (6.1 percent) was similar to the rate in 2007 (5.8 percent).
  • In 2008, there were 1.9 million current cocaine users aged 12 or older, comprising 0.7 percent of the population. These estimates were similar to the number and rate in 2007 (2.1 million or 0.8 percent), but lower than the estimates in 2006 (2.4 million or 1.0 percent).
  • Hallucinogens were used in the past month by 1.1 million persons (0.4 percent) aged 12 or older in 2008, including 555,000 (0.2 percent) who had used Ecstasy. These estimates were similar to the corresponding estimates for 2007.
  • There were 6.2 million (2.5 percent) persons aged 12 or older who used prescription-type psychotherapeutic drugs nonmedically in the past month. These estimates were lower than in 2007 (6.9 million or 2.8 percent).
  • The number of past month methamphetamine users decreased by over half between 2006 and 2008. The numbers were 731,000 in 2006, 529,000 in 2007, and 314,000 in 2008.
  • Among youths aged 12 to 17, the current illicit drug use rate remained stable from 2007 (9.5 percent) to 2008 (9.3 percent). Between 2002 and 2008, youth rates declined significantly for illicit drugs in general (from 11.6 to 9.3 percent) and for marijuana (8.2 to 6.7 percent), cocaine (0.6 to 0.4 percent), prescription-type drugs used nonmedically (4.0 to 2.9 percent), pain relievers (3.2 to 2.3 percent), stimulants (0.8 to 0.5 percent), and methamphetamine (0.3 to 0.1 percent).
  • The rate of current marijuana use among youths aged 12 to 17 decreased from 8.2 percent in 2002 to 6.7 percent in 2006 and remained unchanged at 6.7 percent in 2007 and 2008.
  • The rate of current hallucinogen use among youths aged 12 to 17 increased from 0.7 percent in 2007 to 1.0 percent in 2008.
  • Rates of current use of illicit drugs in 2008 were higher among young adults aged 18 to 25 (19.6 percent) than for youths aged 12 to 17 (9.3 percent) and adults aged 26 or older (5.9 percent). Among young adults, there were no changes from 2007 to 2008 in the rate of current use of marijuana (16.5 percent in 2008), psychotherapeutics (5.9 percent), and hallucinogens (1.7 percent). The rate of cocaine use in this age group declined from 2.6 percent in 2005 to 1.5 percent in 2008.
  • From 2002 to 2008, there was an increase among young adults aged 18 to 25 in the rate of current nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers (from 4.1 to 4.6 percent) and in LSD (from 0.1 to 0.3 percent). There were decreases in the use of inhalants (from 0.5 to 0.3 percent) and methamphetamine (from 0.6 to 0.2 percent).
  • Among those aged 50 to 59, the rate of past month illicit drug use increased from 2.7 percent in 2002 to 4.6 percent in 2008. This trend may partially reflect the aging into this age group of the baby boom cohort, whose lifetime rate of illicit drug use is higher than those of older cohorts.
  • Among persons aged 12 or older in 2007-2008 who used pain relievers nonmedically in the past 12 months, 55.9 percent got the drug they most recently used from a friend or relative for free. Another 18.0 percent reported they got the drug from one doctor. Only 4.3 percent got pain relievers from a drug dealer or other stranger, and 0.4 percent bought them on the Internet. Among those who reported getting the pain reliever from a friend or relative for free, 81.7 percent reported in a follow-up question that the friend or relative had obtained the drugs from just one doctor.
  • Among unemployed adults aged 18 or older in 2008, 19.6 percent were current illicit drug users, which was higher than the 8.0 percent of those employed full time and 10.2 percent of those employed part time. However, most illicit drug users were employed. Of the 17.8 million current illicit drug users aged 18 or older in 2008, 12.9 million (72.7 percent) were employed either full or part time. The number of unemployed illicit drug users increased from 1.3 million in 2007 to 1.8 million in 2008, primarily because of an overall increase in the number of unemployed persons.
  • In 2008, 10.0 million persons aged 12 or older reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs during the past year. This corresponds to 4.0 percent of the population aged 12 or older, the same as the rate in 2007 (4.0 percent), but lower than the rate in 2002 (4.7 percent). In 2008, the rate was highest among young adults aged 18 to 25 (12.3 percent).

Well, there you have the latest information as to what Americans are doing with illicit drugs. In a followup post we’ll provide the survey’s findings on Alcohol Abuse in America. Please stay tuned.

 

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