Surveyors gathered information on topics such as
drug, alcohol, and tobacco use on 70,000 people aged 12 and over
in their homes between January and December 2002.
From its inception in 1971 to 2002, the survey was
known as the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Concerns
about undercounting and other problems with survey methodology
prompted SAMHSA
officials to establish quality-control measures for data collection
on drug and alcohol use and abuse for the new version of the survey.
In addition, declining response rates to the household survey
over the years led to a $30 incentive payment to respondents,
beginning with the NSDUH.
As a result of these changes, precise data comparisons
cannot be made between findings from the new NSDUH survey and
those from past years except on age of first drug and alcohol
use and lifetime prevalence of drug and alcohol use.
Fewer Taking Up Smoking
Findings revealed that 30 percent of the population
aged 12 and older, or 71.5 million people, used tobacco—mostly
cigarettes. However, the number of new daily smokers dropped from
21.5 million a year in 1998 to 1.4 million in 2001.
Among youth under 18, the number of new smokers
dropped from 1.1 million per year between 1997 and 2000 to 757,000
in 2001.
The survey found widespread alcohol abuse among
survey participants. When extrapolated to the population at large,
the survey indicated that more than 20 percent of the population,
an estimated 54 million persons aged 12 and older, reported binge
drinking, which is defined as having five or more drinks on the
same occasion at least once in the preceding month.
"Underage drinking remains a stubborn, destructive
problem," said SAMHSA
Administrator Charles Curie. "About 10.7 million people aged
12 to 20 reported drinking alcohol in the month prior to the survey."
Almost 7 percent of the population, about 15.9 million
people, reported heavy use of alcohol, defined as having five
or more drinks on the same occasion on at least five different
days in the preceding month.
In addition, about 1 in 7 Americans aged 12 or older
(14.2 percent, or 33.5 million people) admitted driving "under
the influence" of alcohol at least once in the year prior
to the survey.
"Alcoholism
has permeated my family for generations," said Lynn Cooper,
who appeared at the press conference to present a human side to
the statistics. Although she is now in her 13th year of recovery,
Cooper said for years she was a "functional alcoholic."
After having her first drink in early adulthood, Cooper said,
"I didn’t stop until it almost killed me. Literally."
Cooper waged a long war against the bottle. "I
tried hundreds of times. One morning, I realized I couldn’t
do it on my own," she recalled.
She entered a 90-day treatment program and joined
a support group. Her recovery, she said, led to the recovery of
her daughter and son-in-law from drug and alcohol abuse.
Her grandchildren "were born into a family
of recovery," she said. "Addiction treatment is effective,
and recovery happens."
Findings from the 2002 National Survey on Drug
Use and Health are posted on the Web at http://www.samhsa.gov/oas/nhsda.htm#NHSDAinfo.
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Psychiatric News 2003 38: 13. [Full
Text] |
