substance abuse

Statistics of Drug and Alcohol Use in 2022

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and stress over the economy grows, so too does the number of people seeking drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism. It can be easy to fall into an unhealthy routine of regular drinking or using drugs, especially if you find yourself primarily at home these days.

Remember that even if you feel isolated, there’s always support out there waiting for you. For every story of addiction, it is a story of the person who was there before substance abuse took over. After that comes the story of recovery, healing and growth as they find a sober life to live any way they want.

Despite treatment being more effective and accessible than ever, only around 11% of those who need help actually receive it. The silver lining is that the number of individuals who do end up seeking treatment is increasing, and America’s Rehab Campus is here to make treatment the easy choice every time. To better understand why we chose to help people with addiction, let’s look back at 2022’s substance use statistics to see just how many people are in need of support.

Overall Trends for Substance Use Disorder

Substance use disorder, or SUD, is the current label for addiction to drugs or alcohol to better encompass the sheer number of substances you can become addicted to. For 2022, the most notable findings include:

  • 20.4 million SUD diagnoses.
  • As little as 10.3% of those with SUD received treatment.
  • 96,700 average annual deaths from drug overdose, up 30% year-over-year.
  • 140,557 average annual deaths from the effects of alcohol (Global deaths were over 3 million.)
  • Opioids are present in 72% of overdose deaths.

Seeing these trends puts much of the situation into perspective as more and more people are unfortunately leaning into substance use, and at younger and younger ages. In fact, 1 in 4 high school seniors reported using marijuana within the last year.

Drug and Alcohol Demographics

We mentioned that drug use is becoming more prevalent with younger groups, but what other demographics are also struggling to stay away from drugs and alcohol? The breakdown for 2022 goes as follows:

  • Only 5% live in rural counties versus over 20% that live in a greater metropolitan area or county.
  • The highest concentration of drug use is in the 18-25 age group with 26-29 coming in second, with 39% and 34% of the survey base respectively.
  • 7 out of 10 individuals who try an illicit drug before the age of 13 will develop SUD.
  • Half of all Americans 12 and older have experimented with illicit drugs at least once.
  • 22% of men reported illicit drug use in the last year compared to 17% of women.

Helping Win the War on Addiction

The impact of SUD goes beyond the individual. Your partner, family members, coworkers and anyone else around you will feel the effects of addiction in their own way. To help stop the increase in drug and alcohol use, America’s Rehab Campus encourages anyone in need of support to reach out to our compassionate team today.

We’ll guide you through the entire process from verifying insurance to scheduling intake, even if admission needs to happen ASAP.