Prescription Drugs Abuse in America

*This article is excerpted from "Overcoming Prescription Drug Addiction". For more information, go to www.prescriptiondrugaddiction.com

It’s difficult to say with precision just how many Americans are abusing prescription drugs, although estimates are available. According to 2007 statistics, nearly 17 million Americans aged twelve or older reported having used prescription drugs—painkillers, sedatives, tranquilizers, or stimulants—for nonmedical purposes during the year. In fact, the number of people abusing prescription drugs is greater than the combined number of people using cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants, and heroin. Overall, 56 percent more Americans abuse prescription drugs than these illegal drugs.

Teen Abuse on the Rise
Prescription drug abuse among teenagers has tripled since 1992. Today, nearly 19 percent of all teens report having taken a painkiller for nonmedical purposes. Prescription drug abuse among college students is estimated at 20 percent.
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University reports that more than half the nation's twelve-to-seventeen-year-olds are at risk of substance abuse because of high stress, frequent boredom, too much spending money, or a combination thereof. Unfortunately, many teens believe that prescription drugs, such as painkillers, are safer than illegal street drugs, and many are not aware of the addiction risks associated with narcotics. Many teens reporting getting drugs from their family medicine chest or from friends.

Statistics on Teen Drug Abuse
• One in five teens (19 percent) have used prescription drugs to get high.
• One in four teens report having a friend who uses pills to get high.
• One in three teens report being offered pills for recreational use.
• Every day, 2,700 teens try a prescription drug for the first time to get high.
Source: Partnership for a Drug-Free America

Emergency Room Visits on the Rise
The number of prescription drug abusers seeking treatment in emergency rooms is also on the rise. In 2005, drug and alcohol abuse sent nearly 1.5 million people to hospital emergency rooms. To make the magnitude of this statistic more real, imagine every man, woman, and child in the city of Philadelphia going to a hospital emergency room as the result of substance abuse.

Fatal poisonings from high concentrations of prescription medications have been increasing steadily according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). From 1999 to 2004, the number of unintentional deaths from prescription medications increased 68 percent, from approximately 12,000 to nearly 21,000. The government estimates that such abuse costs about a half trillion dollars a year, or about $1,650 per American.

Overdoses on the Rise
Deaths from drug overdoses are rising dramatically in the United States. Officials say most of these deaths are from prescription drugs rather than illegal drugs such as heroin. According to the CDC, more than 33,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2005, the most recent year for which statistics are available. This number makes drug overdose the second leading cause of accidental death. (Traffic accidents are the leading cause of accidental deaths.)

In 1990, the CDC reported 10,000 drug overdose deaths; in 1999 the number was 20,000. The 2005 death toll represents a 60 percent increase in drug-related deaths between 2000 and 2005.

Addiction Rate in the United States
It’s generally believed that between 10 and 16 percent of Americans are chemically dependent at some point in life. These percentages refer to all addictive substances, including alcohol, prescription medications, and illegal substances, but does not include tobacco. Many individuals in recovery report that they often used both alcohol and prescription drugs, depending on their availability. A 1998 report by the University of Chicago states that multidrug consumption is the normal pattern among a broad range of substance abusers.