Tobacco.org

• Comprehensive Substance Abuse Report Released Today 

A new report released today finds that young people are experimenting with drugs, alcohol, and tobacco at early ages. The report also finds that illicit drug and tobacco use increased dramatically among youth through the mid-1990s. . .

It also reports that the economic cost of substance abuse is staggering, estimated at more than $414 billion in 1995. Of the more than two million deaths each year in the U.S., one in four is attributable to alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use. In 1995, health care spending associated with alcohol, tobacco, and drug abuse was estimated at more than $114 billion. . .

Among people with less education, smoking is more common, and smoking cessation less likely. In addition, heavy smoking is higher among those without a high school diploma. Similarly, current illicit drug use is twice as high among those aged 26 to 34 who have not completed high school than among those in the same age group with a college degree. Use of multiple drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, is common among substance abusers, particularly among the economically disadvantaged.

**** Gender Differences in Substance Abuse: Gender differences are most apparent among heavy users. Males are almost four times as likely as females to be heavy drinkers, nearly one and a half times as likely to smoke a pack or more of cigarettes a day, and twice as likely to smoke marijuana weekly.

**** Regulation on Smoking and Alcohol Use: In the past decade, tax increases and regulatory strategies have been an increasing focus of efforts to further reduce alcohol and tobacco use. It is estimated that a 50 percent increase in cigarette prices would result in a 12.5 percent reduction in the number of smokers, or 3.5 million fewer smokers nationwide. Although some states have raised excise taxes, the U.S. cigarette tax remains among the lowest in the developed world. Clean indoor air laws and legislation lowering the legal drunk driving limits for adults and youth are increasingly popular ways of reducing tobacco and alcohol use.

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