5 Facts And Statistics About Substance Addictions

Millions upon millions of people across the globe are addicted to substances like alcohol and drugs. You may be one of them, but if you're not, you almost certainly know someone who is. What are some crucial facts about substance addiction that everyone should be aware of?

1. What is a substance addiction?

Though you probably already have a pretty good idea of what a substance addiction is, the World Health Organization defines substance abuse as the "harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances" — which can include alcohol and illegal street drugs, but also the misuse of prescription drugs such as benzodiazepines. 

2. How common are substance addictions?

In the US alone, over 20 million people will have struggled with a substance use disorder in the past 12 months. More than 16.3 million people in the United States are addicted to alcohol, around 6.2 million are addicted to illegal drugs, and approximately 2.3 million are abusing both drugs and alcohol.

Globally, 240 million people (4.9 percent of the world's people) are addicted to alcohol, and the World Health Organization estimates that more than three million people die from causes related to alcoholism each year. Over 31 million people are addicted to drugs. The illegal nature of drugs makes it hard to form an accurate picture of exactly how common drug addictions are, but one study placed the global rate of illegal drug addiction at an estimated 1.5 percent of the population. Cannabis, heroin, prescription drugs (often used without a prescription), cocaine, and amphetamine are among the most common drugs to be abused. 

Tobacco, too, represents a global addiction. More than one in every five people use tobacco, and while six percent of female deaths are related to tobacco use annually, over 11 percent of males die from causes associated with it. The more socially-accepted nature of this addiction doesn't make it any less deadly!

3. Substance addictions are a chronic disease

Once deemed a moral weakness or lack of willpower, we know it's more complicated today, and substance addiction is now recognized as a disease, not a character flaw. The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addiction as "a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry". It describes a pattern of remission and relapse, very much like that seen in many other diseases, and notes that addiction is likely to be "progressive" if left untreated. Addiction changes the way the brain works in very detrimental ways that the addict has little control over.

4. There is no such thing as an 'addictive personality'

Yes, many factors increase a person's risk of becoming addicted to a substance. These include the environment they are exposed to, traumatic experiences, a family history (for social reasons), and even, indeed, genetic predispositions — which do make up about half of a person's risk of becoming addicted once exposed. None of the known risk factors will guarantee that a person is going to end up addicted to a substance, and people without known risk factors can absolutely become addicted too. 

You ultimately become an "addictive personality" by abusing addictive substances, in other words. It can happen to anyone who is exposed to them. 

5. Substance addiction is not enjoyable

While using a substance can make an addict feel good for a short amount of time, the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral changes addiction leads to aren't enjoyable in any way. Neither are the health consequences that can strike. Addicts become almost completely preoccupied with getting their fix, are anxious, prone to stress, and eventually lose their ability to even realize how they feel. Long-term addicts will need their fix of their chosen substance just to feel "normal". 

The only sure-fire way to prevent addiction is to not use addictive substances at all — ever. That is easier said than done when they're all around you, which is typically true for alcohol but also true for other drugs in many circles. A person may be "reeled in" during adolescence or another vulnerable time, and then be stuck in a cycle that is hard to escape from. 

Treatment is possible but often requires professional help and medical supervision.