drug addiction recovery news | National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)
Tobacco Use
* In 2006, an estimated 72.9 million Americans aged 12 or older were current (past month) users of a tobacco product. This represents 29.6 percent of the population in that age range. In addition, 61.6 million persons (25.0 percent of the population) were current cigarette smokers; 13.7 million (5.6 percent) smoked cigars; 8.2 million (3.3 percent) used smokeless tobacco; and 2.3 million (0.9 percent) smoked tobacco in pipes.
* The rates of current use of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigars, and pipe tobacco were unchanged between 2005 and 2006 among persons aged 12 or older. However, between 2002 and 2006, past month cigarette use decreased from 26.0 to 25.0 percent. Rates of past month use of cigars, smokeless tobacco, and pipe tobacco were similar in 2002 and 2006.
* The rate of past month cigarette use among 12 to 17 year olds declined from 13.0 percent in 2002 to 10.4 percent in 2006. However, past month smokeless tobacco use was higher in 2006 (2.4 percent) than in 2002 (2.0 percent).
* Among pregnant women aged 15 to 44, combined data for 2005 and 2006 indicated that the rate of past month cigarette use was 16.5 percent. The rate was higher among women in that age group who were not pregnant (29.5 percent).
Initiation of Substance Use (Incidence, or First-Time Use)
* The illicit drug use categories with the largest number of recent initiates among persons aged 12 or older were nonmedical use of pain relievers (2.2 million) and marijuana use (2.1 million). These estimates are not significantly different from the numbers in 2005.
* In 2006, there were 783,000 persons aged 12 or older who had used inhalants for the first time within the past 12 months; 77.2 percent were under age 18 when they first used. There was no significant change in the number of inhalant initiates from 2005 to 2006.
* The number of recent new users of methamphetamine taken nonmedically among persons aged 12 or older was 259,000 in 2006. This estimate was not significantly different from the estimates from 2002 to 2005.
* Ecstasy initiation, which had declined from 1.2 million in 2002 to about 600,000 per year during 2004 and 2005, increased to 860,000 in 2006.
* Most (89.2 percent) of the 4.4 million recent alcohol initiates were younger than 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 2006, which was significantly greater than the estimate for 2002 (1.9 million). Most new smokers in 2006 were under age 18 when they first smoked cigarettes (61.2 percent).
Youth Prevention-Related Measures
* Perceived risk is measured by NSDUH as the percentage reporting that there is great risk in the substance use behavior. Among youths aged 12 to 17, there were no changes in the perceived risk of marijuana, cocaine, or heroin between 2005 and 2006. However, between 2002 and 2006, there were increases in the perceived risk of smoking marijuana once a month (from 32.4 to 34.7 percent) and smoking marijuana once or twice a week (from 51.5 to 54.2 percent). On the other hand, the percentage of youths who perceived that trying heroin once or twice is a great risk declined from 58.5 percent in 2002 to 57.2 percent in 2006, and those who perceived that using cocaine once a month is a great risk declined from 50.5 to 49.0 percent. There was also a decrease in the perceived risk of using LSD once or twice a week, from 76.1 percent in 2005 to 74.7 percent in 2006.
* The proportion of youths aged 12 to 17 who reported perceiving great risk from smoking one or more packs of cigarettes per day increased from 63.1 percent in 2002 to 68.7 percent in 2006.
* About half (50.1 percent) of youths aged 12 to 17 reported in 2006 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 (25.9 percent). About one in seven (14.4 percent) indicated that heroin would be "fairly" or "very" easily available, and 14.0 percent reported easy availability for LSD.
* Among youths, the perceived availability decreased between 2002 and 2006 for marijuana (from 55.0 to 50.1 percent), heroin (from 15.8 to 14.4 percent), and LSD (from 19.4 to 14.0 percent). However, the percentage reporting that it would be easy to obtain cocaine showed no decline over this period (25.0 percent in 2002 and 25.9 percent in 2006).
* A majority of youths (90.4 percent) in 2006 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 (4.6 vs. 26.5 percent).
* In 2006, 11.4 percent of youths reported that they had participated in substance use prevention programs outside of school within the past year. Approximately four fifths (79.4 percent) reported having seen or heard drug or alcohol prevention messages from sources outside of school, lower than in 2005 when the percentage was 81.1 percent. Most (59.8 percent) youths reported in 2006 that they had talked with a parent in the past year about the dangers of drug, tobacco, or alcohol use.
Substance Dependence, Abuse, and Treatment
* In 2006, an estimated 22.6 million persons (9.2 percent of the population aged 12 or older) were classified with substance dependence or abuse in the past year based on criteria specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV). Of these, 3.2 million were classified with dependence on or abuse of both alcohol and illicit drugs, 3.8 million were dependent on or abused illicit drugs but not alcohol, and 15.6 million were dependent on or abused alcohol but not illicit drugs.
* Between 2002 and 2006, there was no change in the number of persons with substance dependence or abuse (22.0 million in 2002, 22.6 million in 2006).
* The specific illicit drugs that had the highest levels of past year dependence or abuse in 2006 were marijuana (4.2 million), followed by cocaine (1.7 million) and pain relievers (1.6 million).
* Adults aged 21 or older who had first used alcohol before age 21 were more likely than adults who had their first drink at age 21 or older to be classified with alcohol dependence or abuse (9.6 vs. 2.4 percent).
* There were 4.0 million persons aged 12 or older (1.6 percent of the population) who received some kind of treatment for a problem related to the use of alcohol or illicit drugs in 2006. More than half (2.2 million) received treatment at a self-help group. There were 1.6 million persons who received treatment at a rehabilitation facility as an outpatient, 1.1 million at a mental health center as an outpatient, 934,000 at a rehabilitation facility as an inpatient, 816,000 at a hospital as an inpatient, 610,000 at a private doctor's office, 420,000 at a prison or jail, and 397,000 at an emergency room. None of these estimates changed significantly between 2005 and 2006.
* More than half (2.5 million) of the 4.0 million persons who received treatment for a substance use problem in the past year received treatment for alcohol use during their most recent treatment. There were 1.2 million persons who received treatment for marijuana use during their most recent treatment. Estimates for other drugs were 928,000 persons for cocaine, 547,000 for pain relievers, 535,000 for stimulants, 466,000 for heroin, and 442,000 for hallucinogens. (Note that respondents could indicate that they received treatment for more than one substance during their most recent treatment.)
* In 2006, the number of persons aged 12 or older needing treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem was 23.6 million (9.6 percent of the population aged 12 or older). Of these, 2.5 million (1.0 percent of persons aged 12 or older and 10.8 percent of those who needed treatment) received treatment at a specialty facility. Thus, there were 21.1 million persons (8.6 percent of the population aged 12 or older) who needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem but did not receive treatment at a specialty substance abuse facility in the past year.
* Of the 21.1 million people in 2006 who were classified as needing substance use treatment but did not receive treatment at a specialty facility in the past year, 940,000 persons (4.5 percent) reported that they felt they needed treatment for their illicit drug or alcohol use problem. Of these 940,000 persons who felt they needed treatment, 314,000 (33.5 percent) reported that they made an effort to get treatment, and 625,000 (66.5 percent) reported making no effort to get treatment.
* The number of people who felt they needed treatment and made an effort to get it among those who needed but did not receive treatment was not statistically different in 2006 (314,000) from the number reported in 2005 (296,000).
Prevalence and Treatment of Mental Health Problems & Unmet Treatment Need
* Serious psychological distress (SPD) is an overall indicator of past year nonspecific psychological distress that is constructed from the K6 scale administered to adults aged 18 or older in NSDUH.
* In 2006, there were an estimated 24.9 million adults aged 18 or older in the United States with SPD in the past year. This represents 11.3 percent of all adults in this country, a rate equal to the rate in 2005.
* Rates of SPD in 2006 were highest for adults aged 18 to 25 (17.7 percent) and lowest for adults aged 50 or older (6.9 percent).
* The prevalence of SPD among women aged 18 or older (13.7 percent) was higher than that among men in that age group (8.7 percent).
* SPD in the past year was associated with past year substance dependence or abuse in 2006. Among adults with SPD in 2006, 22.3 percent (5.6 million) were dependent on or abused illicit drugs or alcohol. The rate among adults without SPD was 7.7 percent (15.0 million).
* Among the 24.9 million adults with SPD in 2006, 10.9 million (44.0 percent) received treatment for a mental health problem in the past year. Among adults with SPD, 39.0 percent received a prescription medication, 27.2 percent received outpatient treatment, and 3.9 percent received inpatient treatment for a mental health problem in the past year.
* Among the 5.6 million adults with both SPD and substance dependence or abuse (i.e., a substance use disorder) in 2006, about half (50.8 percent) received mental health treatment or substance use treatment at a specialty facility; 8.4 percent received both treatment for mental health problems and specialty substance use treatment, 39.6 percent received only treatment for mental health problems, and 2.8 percent received only specialty substance use treatment.
* In 2006, there were 30.4 million adults (13.9 percent of persons aged 18 or older) who had at least one major depressive episode (MDE) in their lifetime, and 15.8 million adults (7.2 percent of persons aged 18 or older) had at least one MDE in the past year.
* Having MDE in the past year was associated with past year substance dependence or abuse. Among adults who had MDE in 2006, 24.3 percent were dependent on or abused alcohol or illicit drugs, while among adults without MDE only 8.1 percent were dependent on or abused alcohol or illicit drugs. Persons with MDE were more likely than those without MDE to be dependent on or abuse illicit drugs (9.4 vs. 2.1 percent) and alcohol (19.3 vs. 7.0 percent).
* Among adults aged 18 or older who had MDE in the past year, 69.1 percent received treatment (i.e., saw or talked to a medical doctor or other professional or used prescription medication) for depression in the same time period.
* Among adults aged 18 or older with MDE in the past year in 2006, women were more likely than men to receive treatment for depression in the past year (73.7 vs. 60.8 percent).
* In 2006, there were 3.2 million youths aged 12 to 17 years (12.8 percent of the population aged 12 to 17) who had at least one MDE in their lifetime and 2.0 million youths (7.9 percent) who had MDE during the past year. These rates are lower than the 2005 estimates of 13.7 percent lifetime and 8.8 percent past year MDE.
* The rate of MDE in the past year was higher for adolescent females (11.8 percent) than for adolescent males (4.2 percent).
* In 2006, one third (34.6 percent) of youths with MDE in the past year had used illicit drugs in the past year, while the rate of illicit drug use among youths who did not report MDE was 18.2 percent. Similarly, the rates of past month daily cigarette use and heavy alcohol use were higher for youths with MDE (5.2 and 4.5 percent, respectively) than for youths who did not report MDE (2.5 and 2.2 percent, respectively).
* In 2006, 38.9 percent of youths aged 12 to 17 with past year MDE received treatment for depression (saw or talked to a medical doctor or other professional or used prescription medication). Among youths with depression, 23.9 percent saw or talked to a medical doctor or other professional only, 2.1 percent used prescription medication only, and 12.7 percent received treatment from both sources for depression in the past year.
* In 2006, there were 5.4 million youths (21.3 percent) who received treatment or counseling for emotional or behavioral problems in the year prior to the interview. Adolescent females were more likely than adolescent males to report past year treatment for mental health problems (23.0 vs. 19.6 percent, respectively).
* In 2006, there were 10.5 million adults aged 18 or older (4.8 percent) who reported an unmet need for treatment or counseling for mental health problems in the past year. This included 4.8 million adults who did not receive mental health treatment and 5.6 million adults who did receive some type of treatment or counseling for a mental health problem in the past year. That is, about 20 percent of the 23.8 million adults that received treatment for a mental health problem in the past 12 months reported an unmet need. (Unmet need among adults who received treatment may reflect a delay in treatment or a perception of insufficient treatment.)
* Among the 4.8 million adults who reported an unmet need for treatment or counseling for mental health problems and did not receive treatment in the past year, several barriers to treatment were reported. These included an inability to afford treatment (41.5 percent), believing at the time that the problem could be handled without treatment (34.0 percent), not having the time to go for treatment (17.1 percent), and not knowing where to go for services (16.0 percent) (Figure 8.7).
