Trends and Statistics

It is important to follow emerging trends and make notes of statistics when trying to control, treat and prevent drug abuse. Trends and patterns can help us understand the reasons behind first experimentations with drugs, which can lead to long-term drug addiction. They can also help us determine what factors increase the likelihood of drug abuse and addiction.

Drug Rehab Statistics and Hospitals

Statistics from the details of hospital Emergency Room visits are useful in determining which drugs are being used and abused. For example, during the last half of 2003, more than half a million of the visits to ER were drug related. Further, each visit averaged the use of 1.7 drugs, indicating that different types of drugs are commonly used with each other. The most common example of dual drug abuse is of a hard drug, such as heroin or cocaine, used with alcohol. Cocaine was reported in the ER at 20% of the total drug related visits, 13% for Cannabis and 8% for Heroin. This statistics indicate that the most common drug abuse is of Cocaine. Drugs may not be abused by themselves. They may be taken along with other substances, which increase the risks of sudden death and irreparable damage to the body and mind.

Drug Addiction Trends and Schools

School children are the most easily influenced age group, especially when the influence comes from their peers. In order to control and eventually eradicate drug abuse altogether, we must focus on our youth. Thankfully, it seems that most children these days are aware of how potentially dangerous drug abuse can be and what particular risks are involved in taking drugs. However, there are a few worrying trends. Between 2003 and 2004, 12th grade children became less aware of the risks of heroin abuse and showed an increased knowledge of the availability and differing types of cocaine in their neighborhood, whilst 8th grade children felt that inhalant abuse didn't pose significant risks and acid abuse became more acceptable. Steroid use amongst 12th graders has remained at a high level. A 0.4% increase in 30-day cocaine abuse by 10th grade children was recorded between 2003 and 2004. Abuse of prescription drugs increased by up to 3.7% amongst children progressing through grades 8 to 10. These trends are extremely worrying considering that most habits formed during school age years prove very hard to break later in life.

Worldwide Addiction Trends and Statistics of Drug Addiction

Drug abuse varies in different parts of the world, different counties or states and even in different towns. For example, in South America the most common (59% of all drug abuse) drug abuse is of cocaine, in Europe and Asia it is opiates such as Heroin (62%) and Cannabis in Africa (64%) and North America (45%). Worldwide, heroin and other opiate abuse is the most common, followed closely by cocaine. The 2005 World Drug Report noted that 5% of the world's population (approx. 200 million people) in the past 12 . This doesn't take into account legal substances such as alcohol and nicotine, which push the figure right up to around 30% of the world population.

Although the statistics for overall drug abuse have decreased compared to previous years, there seems to be an increase in the prevalence of drug abuse amongst school children, who view some of these substances as mild or even not harmful. Such views of potentially hazardous drugs can lead to long-term addiction, damage to the body and mind and isolation from people who care. These statistics are vitally important to the methodology and approach used in preventing and treating drug abuse and the general improvement of people's views of drug abuse.

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