Substance Abuse: The Nation's Number One Health Problem : Key Indicators for Policy Update

ISBN-10: 094205413X
ISBN-13: 9780942054132
Series: Substance Abuse
Pages: 128
Language: English
Published: 2001
Publisher: The Foundation
Author: Constance M. Horgan

Description

Research has long shown that the abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs is the single most serious health problem in the United States, straining the health care system, burdening the economy, and contributing to the health problems and death of millions of Americans every year. Today, substance abuse causes more deaths, illnesses, and disabilities than any other preventable health condition. This report presents key policy-relevant indicators with an emphasis on trends over time. Following an overview, the book us divided into three parts and is designed to provide building blocks of information. Beginning with patterns of use, it moves on to the consequences of use and concludes with ways to combat the problem. Trend data shows that while tobacco, alcohol and other drug use are down from the peak levels of earlier decades, and the perception of risk associated with substance abuse has increased since then, pockets of high use remain, and risky experimentation by youth continues. Among other findings, the report discusses the role the media have played in influencing youth substance use and looks at how treatment, though shown to be effective by numerous scientific studies, is severely underutilized. (GCP).