Addiction is more common than many realize. There were approximately 20.6 million people in the United States over the age of 12 with an addiction in 2011.
Although most people don’t get the treatment they need, over 3 million people in 2011 received treatment for their addiction.
• Over 20 million Americans over the age of 12 have an addiction (excluding tobacco).
• 100 people die every day from drug overdoses. This rate has tripled in the past 20 years.
• Over 5 million emergency room visits in 2011 were drug related.
• 2.6 million people with addictions have a dependence on both alcohol and illicit drugs.
• 9.4 million people in 2011 reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs.
• 6.8 million people with an addiction have a mental illness.
• Rates of illicit drug use is highest among those aged 18 to 25.
• Over 90% of those with an addiction began drinking, smoking or using illicit drugs before the age of 18.
Drug overdose deaths in 2016 most likely exceeded 59,000, the largest annual jump ever recorded in the United States, according to preliminary data compiled by The New York Times.
The death count is the latest consequence of an escalating public health crisis: opioid addiction, now made more deadly by an influx of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and similar drugs. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under 50.
Although the data is preliminary, the Times’s best estimate is that deaths rose 19 percent over the 52,404 recorded in 2015. And all evidence suggests the problem has continued to worsen in 2017.
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