America’s Most Common Drug Problem? Unhealthy Alcohol Use The Pew Charitable Trusts

The percentages in the table show the proportion of the population in each state that struggled with alcoholism at the time the data was collected. If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol abuse, Ardu Recovery Center employs caring staff and offers a customized recovery plan that includes family involvement. Contact us today to learn more about our alcohol treatment programs and how we can help you or your loved one start the journey to recovery. According to the 2024 National Survey of Drug Use and Health, about 28 million people in the US meet the criteria for alcohol use disorder, also called alcohol addiction or alcoholism. It is important to understand the short- and long-term effects of alcohol, especially Halfway house for those who aren’t able to see how excessive drinking negatively impacts their quality of life. During 2018, 1 in 20 adults (5.1%) aged 18 and over engaged in heavy drinking.

Health Impact and Mortality Rates from Alcohol Use

According to the NCBI Bookshelf, health care expenditures related alcoholism statistics to underage drinking are estimated to be at least $8.4 billion annually. These costs arise from alcohol abuse services and medical consequences related to alcohol abuse by underage drinkers. These underage drinking statistics point to the need for effective prevention strategies and the importance of awareness campaigns to curb the dangerous trend of binge drinking among the youth.

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in the United States: Age Groups and Demographic Characteristics

• According to the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 219.2 million people (78.3%) ages 12 and older said they’ve had at least one drink at some point.
• With appropriate intervention, many people do recover fully from alcohol use disorders, restoring stability and improving their overall quality of life.
• The goal is to minimize the adverse effects that are regularly experienced with current treatment options.
• South Dakota has an elevated rate of alcohol-related deaths per capita and a high rate of under-21 deaths.
• Alcohol-related deaths in Tennessee are much more likely to involve acute causes.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), excessive alcohol consumption is linked to 95,000 fatalities in the United States every year. In France in the 1920s, the average was 22.1 liters of pure alcohol per person per year. This interactive map shows the annual average alcohol consumption of alcohol, expressed per person aged 15 years or older. To account for the differences in alcohol content of different alcoholic drinks (e.g., beer, wine, spirits), this is reported in liters of pure alcohol per year.

• Together, these approaches form a national blueprint for reducing excessive alcohol use, saving lives, and easing the economic burden on healthcare systems and communities.
• This is from a CDC study that broke down self-reported data acquired from more than 138,100 adults in the US.

Socioeconomic Factors

The rate for individuals of Other/Multiple Races decreased from 14.9% in 2022 to 13.1% in 2023. White adults reported a decrease in excessive alcohol consumption from 18.8% in 2022 to 17.6% in 2023. At the national level, excessive alcohol consumption rates decreased for all available racial and ethnic groups – African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, Other/Multiple Races, and White – from 2022 to 2023. Heavy drinking that persists for years often develops into physical tolerance and addiction where brains and bodies adapt to expect alcohol. Once dependent, quitting brings distressing psychological and physiological symptoms. Even non-addicted problem drinkers deal with health issues such as liver disease, cognitive effects, and cardiovascular conditions over time.

• Alcohol is one of the few legal substances that leads to nearly half a million lost lives every year in the U.S., whether from organ failure, accidents, or violence.
• Studying the amount of pure alcohol gives a clearer picture than studying the overall number of drinks.
• Understanding the full scope of these consequences is crucial to inform public health policies and programs aimed at tackling this issue.
• More Americans have used alcohol in the past year than any other drug or tobacco product.
• The statistics don’t show the exact number of adults who drink daily in the U.S.