Alcohol and Drug Abuse

Alcohol and Drug Abuse Senior Health - Bauberger

Alcohol Abuse • Alcohol is absorbed very rapidly into the blood stream from the stomach lining, in as short a time as 5 to 10 minutes and it’s effects last for several hours depending on the amount ingested and how quickly it was consumed. • Females absorb alcohol faster than males because their bodies contain less water. The water dilutes the alcohol and so the same amount of alcohol will produce a higher concentration in the blood. • After consuming only 2 to 3 normal strength beers, or 4 or 5 standard glasses of wine, most people will feel less inhibited and more relaxed. Anything consumed after this amount most people slur their speech and become less coordinated and clumsy. • Some people have increased emotional reactions. More alcohol could result in staggering, double vision, and loss of balance, nausea, vomiting and an impression of the room spinning.

Alcohol Abuse • According to information issued from the U. S. government publication, “Subtle alcohol-induced adolescent learning impairments could affect academic and occupational achievement.” • Short-term evaluating memory skills in alcohol-dependent and nondependent teens ages 15 and 16. the alcohol-dependent youth had greater difficulty remembering words and simple geometric designs after a 10-minute interval. • Early alcohol use may have long lasting consequences. People who begin drinking before age 15 are 4 times more likely to develop alcohol dependence at some time in their lives compared with those who have their 1st drink at age 20 or older. • Children of alcoholic families may start drinking earlier because of easier access to alcohol in the home, family acceptance of drinking, and lack of parental monitoring.

Risky Behaviors • Drinking and Driving • Motor vehicle crashes are the #1 cause of death among youth ages 15 to 20. The rate of fatal crashes among alcohol-involved drivers between 16 and 20 years old is more than twice the rate for alcohol-involved drivers 21 and older. • Suicide • Alcohol use interacts with conditions such as depression & stress to contribute to suicide, the 3rd leading cause of death among the ages of 14 and 25. 37 % of 8th grade females who drank heavily reported attempting suicide, compared with 11% who did not drink. • Sexual Assault • Sexual assault occurs most commonly among women in late adolescence and early adulthood, usually during a date. In one survey, approximately 10 percent of female high school students reported having been raped. Research shows that alcohol use by the offender and/or the victim increase the chance of assault by a male acquaintance. • High-Risk Sex • Research has associated youth alcohol use with high-risk sex (multiple partners or unprotected sex.) along with its consequences (unwanted pregnancy and STI’s) • The link between high-risk sex and drinking is affected by the quantity of alcohol consumed. The probability of sexual intercourse is increased by drinking amounts of alcohol sufficient to impair judgment, but decreased by drinking heavier amounts that result in feelings of nausea, passing out, or mental confusion.

Binge Drinking • Binge drinking is defined as consuming five or more drinks in a row for boys and four or more in a row for girls • Binge drinking, often beginning around age 13, tends to increase during adolescence, peak in young adulthood (ages 18 to 22), then gradually decrease. • Binge drinking during the past 30 days was reported by 8 % of youth ages 12 to 17 and 30 % of those ages 18 to 20. • Among persons under the legal drinking age (12 to 20), 15 % were binge drinkers and 7% were heavy drinkers. • About 10.4 million adolescents ages 12 to 20 reported using alcohol. Of those, 5.1 million were binge drinkers and included 2.3 million heavy drinkers who binged at least five times a month. • Nearly 9 % of boys and 7 percent of girls ages 12 to 17 reported binge drinking in the previous month.

Binge Drinking • Frequent binge drinkers were 8 times more likely than non-binge drinkers to miss a class, fall behind in school, get injured, and damage property. • Nearly 1 out of every 5 teenagers (16 percent) has experienced “black out” spells where they could not remember what happened the previous evening because of heavy binge drinking. • More than 60% of college men and almost 50% of college women who are frequent binge drinkers report that they drink and drive. • Binge drinking in high school is strongly predictive of binging in college. • Binge drinking during college may be associated with mental health disorders such as compulsiveness, depression or anxiety, or early deviant behavior. • In a national study, 91 percent of women and 78 percent of the men who were frequent binge drinkers considered themselves to be moderate or light drinkers

Risks of Binge Drinking • Alcohol poisoning (a severe and potentially fatal physical reaction to an alcohol overdose) is the most serious consequence of binge drinking. • When excessive amounts of alcohol are consumed, the brain is deprived of oxygen. Trying to deal with an overdose of alcohol and lack of oxygen will eventually cause the brain to shut down the voluntary functions that regulate breathing and heart rate. • If a person is known to have consumed large quantities of alcohol in a short period of time, symptoms of alcohol poisoning include: • Vomiting, unconsciousness, cold/pale skin, slow or irregular breathing (less than 8 breaths a minute or 10 or more seconds between breaths). • In schools with high binge drinking rates: • 34% of non-binge drinkers reported being insulted or humiliated by binge drinkers • 13% reported being pushed, hit, or assaulted • 54% reported having to take care of a drunken student • 68% were interrupted while studying • 26% of women experienced an unwanted sexual advance.

Alcohol Use on Campus • The marriage between alcohol consumption and college life has long been accepted as the norm • However, recent violent outbreaks and campus riots are being attributed more and more to alcohol abuse, causing it to become illegal on several campuses • The issue at hand is not casual social drinking but binge drinking. Teens who choose to drink do so without considering the detrimental effects of such heavy consumption

Binge Drinking on Campus • According to a national study conducted by Harvard School of Public Health, nearly ½ of all college students surveyed drank 4 or 5 drinks in 1 sitting within the previous 2 weeks. • Fraternity and sorority houses reported the heaviest drinking with over 80% of residents reporting binge drinking. • In a recent study, 39% of college women binge drank within a 2-week period compared with 50% of college men. • Colleges with high binge drinking rates were also much more likely to attract students who were binge drinkers in high school • In one multicampus survey, white non-Hispanic students reported the highest percentage of binge drinking in a 2-wk period (43.8%), followed by Native American (40.6%), Hispanic (31.3%), Asian (22.7%), and black non-Hispanic (22.5%) students. This pattern of binge drinking differences among ethnic groups is also seen in high school students.

Alcohol Abuse on Campuses • Death: 1,700 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related injuries. • Injury: 599,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are injured under the influence • Assault: More than 696,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who has been drinking. More than 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or rape • Unsafe Sex: 400,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 had unprotected sex and more than 100,000 students report having been too intoxicated to know if they consented • Academic Problems: About 25% of college students report academic consequences of their drinking including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall • Health Problems/Suicide Attempts: More than 150,000 students develop an alcohol-related health problem and between 1.2 and 1.5 percent of students indicate that they tried to commit suicide due to drinking or drug use • Drunk Driving: 2.1 million students between drove under the influence last year • Alcohol Abuse and Dependence: 31% of college students met criteria of alcohol abuse and 6% for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence

Drug Abuse on Campus • A new study found that 20%, or one in five, college students in the United States are taking prescription drugs to get high. • Students that choose to take drugs for non-medical reasons are at least 5 times more likely to develop an addiction problem versus students that take prescription drugs are prescribed for medical reasons. • Among young adults, aged 18-25 years, abuse fell in all drug categories last year, except pain relievers.

Teen Drug Abuse • In the U.S., about 3,000 teens smoke their first tobacco cigarette each day. About one-third of those adolescents become daily smokers. • In 2004, the percentage of adolescents who have used any drug in the past month was about 27%. • As of 2002, about one-third of 10th-graders used marijuana in the past year. Nearly one-fifth of 10th-graders said they used it in the past month. • In 2002, about 2% of 10th-graders had used cocaine in the past year, 3% had used opiates, 13% had used inhalants, nearly 5% had used a club drug (for example, "Ecstasy"), and about 2% had used anabolic steroids. • While the use of most drugs by teenagers has decreased since 2001, the abuse of Oxycontin, a narcotic, has increased to 5% of 10th-graders in 2004.

Teen Drug Abuse • 45% of teens attend parties where alcohol is available; 30% where marijuana is available; 10% where prescription drugs are available; and 9% where cocaine or Ecstasy is available. • Drugs have rebounded as the #1 concern of teens. • 21% of 12 to 17 year-olds can buy marijuana in an hour or less; 40% can buy marijuana within a day. • Teens who attend religious services weekly are at less than half the risk of smoking, drinking or using illegal drugs as teens who do not attend such services. • 44% of parents believe that teens who abuse prescription drugs get them from their parents. Yet 71% of parents do not take any special precautions to protect prescription drugs in their homes. • Only 12% of parents think that a teen's #1 concern is drugs, while 29% of teens report drugs as their biggest concern.

Substance Abuse & Sexual Activity • Compared to teens with no sexually active friends, teens who report half or more of their friends are sexually active are more than six times likelier to drink; 31 times likelier to get drunk; 22.5 times likelier to have tried marijuana; and more than five times likelier to smoke. • Teens who spend 25 or more hours a week with a boyfriend/girlfriend are 2.5 times likelier to drink; 5.5 times likelier to get drunk; 4.5 times likelier to have tried marijuana; and more than 2.5 times likelier to smoke than teens who spend less than 10 hours a week with a boyfriend/girlfriend. • Girls with boyfriends 2 or more years older are more than twice as likely to drink; 6 times likelier to get drunk; 6 times likelier to have tried marijuana; and 4.5 times likelier to smoke than girls whose boyfriends are less than 2 years older or who don’t have a boyfriend • Teens whose friends regularly view Internet pornography, are more than 3 times likelier to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs, compared to teens who have no friends who engage in such behavior. • 44% of high school students think that boys at their school often or sometimes "push girls to drink alcohol or take drugs in order to get the girls to have sex.”

Cocaine Stats • 1 out of 4 Americans between the age of 26 and 34 have used cocaine in their lifetime. • According to the Minnesota Institute for Public Health and drug prevention resource center, 5,000 adults in the United States try cocaine for the first time each day. • Today it is estimated that 22 to 25 million people have tried cocaine at least once. Conservative estimates indicate that there are over two million cocaine addicts in the United States today. • Near half of all drug related emergency room visits are due to cocaine abuse. • The annual number of new cocaine users has generally increased over time. In 1975 there were 30,000 new users. The number increased from 300,000 in 1986 to 361,000 in 2000. • Rates of cocaine use by college students over the previous 5 years has varied between 2.0% of all students in 1994 to 4.8% in 2000. • Of high school seniors in 2001, 8.2% reported having ever used cocaine. • From 1997 to 2000 cocaine was the most common drug reported in emergency room episodes. • Cocaine use among men is almost twice then women. Based upon additional data sources, the office of National Drug Control Policy estimates the number of chronic cocaine users at 3.6 million. • Adults 18 to 25 years of age currently have the highest percentage of cocaine use than any other age group. • 90% of cocaine users smoked, drank, or used marijuana before trying cocaine. • In 1988, about 300,000 infants were born addicted to cocaine.

Ecstacy Stats • Research suggests that people who used ecstasy at least 25 times had lowered serotonin levels for as long as a year after quitting. • About 5.5% of 19-22 year-olds surveyed had used Ecstasy in the previous year. • Ecstasy-related emergency room incidents increased nationwide from 250 in 1994, to 637 in 1997, to 1,142 in 1998, to 2,850 in 1999. • In the past year, Ecstasy users aged 12 to 25 were more likely to have used other types of illicit drugs in the past year than those who did not use Ecstasy in the past year.

Marijuana Stats • According to the UN's estimate, 141 million people around the world use marijuana. This represents about 2.5 percent of the world population. • Among teens 12 to 17, the average age of first trying marijuana was 14 years old. • Data has shown that people high on marijuana show the same lack of coordination on standard "drunk driver" tests as do people who have had to much to drink. • Reaction time for motor skills, such as driving is reduced by 41% after smoking 1 joint and is reduced 63% after smoking 2 joints. • Marijuana is California's largest cash crop. • 600,000 Canadians have a criminal record for simple possession of marijuana • 65% of people arrested for marijuana related crimes are for simple possession.

Heroin Stats • According to Drug Abuse Warning Network heroin and morphine accounted for 51% of drug deaths ruled accidental or unexpected in 1999. • Current estimates suggest that nearly 600,000 people need treatment for heroin addiction. Recent studies suggest a shift from injecting heroin to snorting or smoking because of increased purity and the misconception that these forms of use will not lead to addiction. • In addition to the effects of the drug itself, street heroin may have additives that do not readily dissolve and result in clogging the blood vessels that lead to the lungs, liver, kidneys, or brain. This can cause infection or even death of small patches of cells in vital organs. • In 2000, as part of DAWN's year-end emergency data report, heroin related emergency room visits increased 15% from the last year. • According to the University of Michigan.s Monitoring the Future Study in 2002, 1.6% of 8th graders, 1.8% of 10th graders, and 1.7% of 12th graders surveyed reported using heroin at least once during their lifetime. That study also showed that 0.9% of 8th graders, 1.1% of 10th graders, and 1% of 12th graders reported using heroin in the past year • In another study, of those high school students surveyed in 2001 as part of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 3.1% reported using heroin at least once during their lifetime. Male students (3.8%) were more likely than female students (2.5%) to report lifetime heroin use. • The heroin addict spends between $150 to $200 per day to maintain a heroin addiction.

Prescription Drug Stats • Approximately 6 million people 12 and older used psychotherapeutic drugs for non-medical purposes in 2004, which represents 2.5 percent of the U.S. population. Most of them reported abusing opiate pain relievers in particular, with young adults (18-25) showing the greatest increases in lifetime use between 2002 and 2004 • In 2004, 2.4 million persons ages 12 or older initiated non-medical use of prescription pain relievers during the past year, surpassing for the first time in the life of the survey, those who initiated abuse of marijuana (2.1 million) • Among 12th graders, in 2005, 9.5% reported past-year non-medical use of Vicodin, and 5.5% reported past-year non-medical use of OxyContin. • Data show an increase in the abuse of OxyContin between 2002 and 2005 among 12th graders (NIDA's 2005 Monitoring the Future survey [MTF]). • Past-year non-medical use of stimulant medications is also high, with 8.6% of 12th graders reporting abuse of amphetamine (a parent class of drugs that includes methamphetamine), and 4.4% reporting abuse of methylphenidate (Ritalin)

New Jersey Drug Trends • Population in New Jersey: 8,717,925 • State Prison Population in New Jersey: 26,757 • Probation Population in New Jersey: 143,315 • Violent Crime Rate in New Jersey: • National Ranking: 26 • 2007 Federal Drug Seizures in New Jersey • Cocaine seizures in New Jersey: 864.5 kgs • Heroin seizures in New Jersey: 86.1 kgs. • Methamphetamine seizures in New Jersey: 105 kgs. • Marijuana seizures in New Jersey: 533.8 kgs. • Hashish seizures in New Jersey: 90.5 kgs. • MDMA seizures in New Jersey: 0.0 kgs./3,376 du • Meth Lab Incidents in New Jersey: 1

references • http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/StatsSummaries/snapshot.aspx • http://www.teendrugabuse.us/teendrugstatistics.html • http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=38544 • http://www.drug-rehabs.org/drug-statistics.php

Alcohol and Drug Abuse