Substance use is rampant in the United States, with 23.5 million Americans struggling with addiction – but only 2.6 million (11%) of them are in treatment. That means about one in ten Americans continue to live with untreated addictions.
Alcoholism is an extremely serious problem in today’s world, resulting in approximately 88,000 deaths annually in the United States alone. Alcohol-related deaths are the fourth leading preventable cause of death in the United States.
In 2014, more than 16 million adults, or nearly 7% of America’s adult population, suffered from alcohol-related disease. In addition, more than 5 million more participated in risky alcohol use, such as binge drinking, which could potentially lead to abuse.
Research shows that the younger a person starts drinking, the more likely they are to engage in harmful behaviors. In fact, nearly 40% of underage high school students have been drunk at some point, and nearly 20% reported having more than five drinks over the past two weeks.
While binge and heavy drinking rates among underage drinkers have declined between 2002 and 2014, there are still more than 5 million youth who report binge drinking and 1.3 million who report heavy drinking.
Source: American Addicton Center
