NCJ Number
172891
Date Published
1996
Length
99 pages
Annotation
This report presents the first results from the 1995 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.
Abstract
The survey provided estimates of the prevalence of use of a variety of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, based on a nationally representative sample (17,747 persons) of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 12 and older. Selected findings included: (1) An estimated 12.8 million Americans were current illicit drug users, i.e., had used an illicit drug in the month prior to interview; (2) Fifty-two percent of the population (111 million persons) had used alcohol in the past month; (3) About 10 million current drinkers were under age 21; (4) An estimated 61 million Americans were current smokers; (5) Current smokers were more likely to be heavy drinkers (drinking five or more drinks per occasion on 5 or more days in the past 30 days) and illicit drug users than nonsmokers; (6) Overall, 7.3 percent (4.3 million) of women age 15-44 had used an illicit drug in the past month; the corresponding rate for men age 15-44 was 11.6 percent; and (7) Of the 4.3 million women age 15-44 who were current illicit drug users, more than 1.6 million had children living with them, including 390,000 with at least one child under 2 years of age. Figures, appendixes