A Review of the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health
Each year the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) conducts a National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). According to SAMHSA’s website “NSDUH’s latest annual report focuses on substance abuse and mental health in the United States based on NSDUH data from 2018 and earlier years.” Some of the key findings from the report include:
- Nearly 140 million people over the age of 12 used alcohol in the past month
- 67.1 million Americans admitted to binge drinking within the same period
- 16.6 Americans aged 12 and over fell into the category of heavy drinkers
The 2018 survey also showed a slight increase in the number of people aged 12 and over who used alcohol in their lifetime. Binge alcohol use also increased slightly over the past year for the same age group.
Researchers estimate that over 20 million people in 2018 should seek substance abuse treatment yet very few people actually seek any kind of treatment. According to the recent survey, “approximately 1.4 percent of people aged 12 or older (3.7 million people) received any substance use treatment in the past year, and 0.9 percent (2.4 million) received substance use treatment at a specialty facility.”
People expressed a number of reasons for not seeking treatment despite needing or perceiving the need for treatment including:
- Unwilling to stop using
- No health care coverage
- Unable to afford treatment
One of the most important things for people to know is that there are a number of treatment options available for people seeking help for substance use. Today, more than ever, there are affordable treatment options that can work for anyone no matter their situation.