American Addiction Statistics

Substance abuse and the addiction that follows has been a problem around the world for thousands of years. In every society, there are always individuals who depend on drugs and alcohol.

“In the past few decades in the United States, substance abuse and addiction have continued to grow. This has made addiction statistics more alarming than ever before.”

Painkillers such as oxycodone and relaxants such as Xanax are just two of a thousand different prescription drugs that Americans are becoming addicted to. Couple that in with the increase in the consumption of cocaine, other illicit drugs and the binge drinking culture amongst young adults and you have a recipe for disaster.

Even though Americans are now more educated than ever about substance abuse it has not deterred the demand and consumption of them.

People are still abusing drugs and alcohol at an alarming rate, becoming addicted and are not receiving the proper treatment for this addiction.

American Addiction

So, how many Americans are addicted to drugs and alcohol?:

1. Over 25 Million Americans have an addiction.
2. 10% of people in the US over the age of 12 have an addiction problem.
3. 90% of adults with addiction began their substance abuse before the age of 18.
4. Over 6 million people go to the hospital each year from drug abuse.
5. Close to 3 million Americans depend on alcohol and drugs every day.
6. The rate of death from overdoses has quadrupled over the past 25 years.
7. Ages 17-23 use illicit drugs the most.  

Cost of Addiction

This chart and data was taken from the National Institute on Drug Abuse

It is important to highlight how old this data is. Based on the population growth and the massive increase in provided prescriptions for opioids, these numbers have risen significantly.

In addition, there has been a rise in teenage drug addiction in recent years that is not calculated. Unfortunately, this is the most current data available and still highlights what a serious issue drug and alcohol abuse are, from a financial perspective, in the United States.