Disturbing Alcoholism Statistics and Drug Addiction Statistics

This page on alcoholism statistics and drug addiction statistics should be read in conjunction with the addiction and alcoholism facts page. Make sure you read that either now, or once you’re done reading this page.

So if the facts about alcoholism and drug addiction didn’t sufficiently frighten you and make you sit up and take notice, hopefully these statistics on alcoholism and drug addiction will:

• A study of 11 and 12 year old school kids, showed that those who demonstrated an awareness of beer ads, held more positive beliefs about drinking and intended to drink more frequently when they grow up
• By the time most teenagers get to 15-16 years old, around 80% have already used alcohol and 65% of those have been drunk
• In the US it was reported that about 2.6 million binge drinkers were between the ages of 12-17 in 2002. In the U.K alcohol consumption has doubled in the last 10 years in young women
• Hospital admissions linked to alcohol use have more than doubled in the UK over the last 10 years, to over 200,000 in the last year, and there has been a 20% increase in GP’s making prescriptions for alcohol dependency in the last 4 years
• Around 95% of alcoholics die from their disease and approximately 26 years earlier than their normal life expectancy
• The cost of untreated drug and alcohol abuse in the U.S. is estimated at $276 Billion a year in lost productivity, law enforcement costs, health care, and welfare programs
• The annual cost of drug abuse in the UK is around £19 billion
• Drunk driving is responsible for approximately 50% of motorway deaths
• Close on 20 million people over the age of 12 use drugs in the US and around 20,000 people a year die from their addiction
• In the UK, around 10% of adults aged 16-59 had used illicit drugs in the last year and for only 15 year olds, 29% reported taking drugs in the last year
• Around 180,000 people in the UK have in the past year been in a structured drug treatment program. Heroin was the main drug for which adults over age 18 were receiving treatment, while for those under the age of 18, it was marijuana/cannabis
• Kids at school who say they have been taunted or excluded were more likely to have taken drugs in the last month compared to those who had not taunted or been excluded (11 per cent compared to 1 per cent)
• The annual value of the global illegal drugs trade is around $400 billion

The fact is, alcoholism and drug addiction are a huge global problem. So hopefully by having read these alcoholism statistics and drug addiction statistics, (as well as the addiction and alcoholism facts page) you’ll realise the enormity of the problem and how serious it is.

The thing is, all the statistics on alcoholism and drug addiction in the world won’t make an iota of difference if we don’t each do our bit. And unfortunately, most of us aren’t compelled to do anything until we’ve had firsthand experience of the dangers of alcohol and drugs.

I don’t suggest we all go out there and become preachers to the masses because I still think the most powerful way to influence is through example. And that way, we’ll influence those people close to us - our kids, our families, our friends – and in time hopefully that way perceptions and attitudes will begin to change.

So lets use these alcoholism statistics and drug addiction statistics as motivation to lead by example and that way begin to effect long-term and lasting change.

And be sure to increase your awareness as to the dangers of alcohol and drugs by learning the facts about cocaine, the causes of alcoholism, and the effects of alcoholism on all parts of your life.