Addiction in America

innerSpaceman · 07-13-2007, 04:52 PM

I was surprised by some statistics on addiction reported by Time Magazine this week, specifically regarding how many Americans are addicted to which type of substances or behaviors. I think our priorities to address and combat addiction are rather skewed, considering the reportedly true numbers of addicts and their actual addictions.

Booze - 18.7 million people are addicted to alcohol, or 7% of the U.S. population. AA has 2 million members. 12,000 new people try alcohol for the first time every day.

Drugs - 3.6 million people are dependent on drugs. 700,00 are undergoing treatment for addiction. On average, 8,000 people try drugs for the first time each day. More then half of these are females under the age of 18. Marijuana, cocaine and pain relievers are the leading drugs of abuse.

Tobacco - There are about 71.5 million users of tobacco products in the U.S. About 23.4% of men and 18.5% of women are cigarette smokers, with cigarette use lowest in the Western states and highest in the Midwest. 44.3% of young adults ages 18 to 25 use tobacco, the highest rate for any age group.

Caffeine - Caffeine is the most widely used mood-altering drug in the world, and is routinely ingested by about 80% to 90% of Americans, primarily through soda and coffee. A daily brewed cup of joe, with 100mg of caffeine, can lead to physical dependence. Withdrawal symptoms are experienced by 40% to 70% of those trying to quit.

Food - Food addiction affects as many as 4 million adults, and is strongly linked to depression. About 15% of mildly obese people are compulsive eaters. Binge eating, thought to be the most common eating disorder in America, is considered bulimia when a person purges to lose weight.

Gambling - Two million Americans, or 0.67% of the population, are thought to be pathological gamblers, wagering heedless of the consequences. An additional 4 million to 8 million are considered problem gamblers.

Shopping - At least 1 in 20 Americans is a compulsive shopper. The addiction affects both genders almost equally.

Sex - About 16 million Americans suffer from compulsive sexual behavior, the least understood of addictions. A third are women. About 60% of all sex addicts were abused in childhood. An addict is dependent on the neurochemical changes that take place during sex and is consumed by sexual thoughts.

The Internet - Like compulsive gambling, internet addiction is thought to be an impulse-control disorder that can disrupt social relationships. There is disagreement as to whether it should be formally considered a disorder. Though substance abusers strive for abstinence, an internet addict’s goal is to attain moderation.

Any surprises for you? Anything you care to discuss about addiction, resources and methods to combat addiction, myths and truths about addiction? Don’t get addicted to this thread, but please contribute - if you can handle it.

Ponine · 07-13-2007, 04:57 PM

No surprises there for me.
I knew about my personal food addiction related to depression.
And I attended S-ANON meetings in my late teens.

And tobacco.... I was surprised by the highest age group.

Morrigoon · 07-13-2007, 05:05 PM

I am one who engages in "retail therapy"

Alex · 07-13-2007, 05:05 PM

Hard for me to say much useful on addiction. I have never smoked, never done any "illicit" drug more than once (technically tried LSD twice but the first dose was apparently a dud; to make up for it I have never taken the lightest of samplings of pot). Rarely drink caffeine and have an alcoholic drink maybe six times a year.

I can have sex any time I want it but it hardly interferes with my life and I have a shopping anti-addiction. I do like the gambling but again have never done it in a way that is at all dangerous to my lifestyle.

I'm fat but don't think I would qualify as having an eating disorder.

The internet is probably the closest thing but it is also my social environment and occupation and I have no problem experiencing life away from it either.

I will admit to simultaneously understanding that addiction is not a voluntary condition while feeling that becoming addicted is. So while I view the former as a medical condition I view the latter as a personal failure which renders me less than entirely sympathetic.

I do think that while it may be a medical condition, the move over the last 30 years to treat it on a disease model is not good. I consider AA to be a fraud (see that episode of Bull**** to understand my point of view).

I do not think addiction is sufficient cause for criminalization, nor do I consider it a public health issue. All drugs should be legal to any adults who want them and anybody who ends up in a bad relationship with those drugs has my sympathy and I hope they can kick the habit but they did choose (with very few exceptions) to get there, even if choosing to get back from there is not so easy. The societal evils of prohibition are far worse than anything that would result from decriminalization.

Kevy Baby · 07-13-2007, 05:33 PM

I have an eating disorder: I am bulimic. I just keep forgetting to purge.

Seriously though, I at times feel as though I have an addictive behavior, but nothing that seems to take over my life.

Not Afraid · 07-13-2007, 05:44 PM

Addiction of one part behavioral / emotional and one part physical - at least substance abuse usually is. I have no clue about gambling or shopping (other than I like one and despise the other).

Chernabog · 07-13-2007, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex

I do think that while it may be a medical condition, the move over the last 30 years to treat it on a disease model is not good. I consider AA to be a fraud (see that episode of Bull**** to understand my point of view).

I do not think addiction is sufficient cause for criminalization, nor do I consider it a public health issue. All drugs should be legal to any adults who want them and anybody who ends up in a bad relationship with those drugs has my sympathy and I hope they can kick the habit but they did choose (with very few exceptions) to get there, even if choosing to get back from there is not so easy. The societal evils of prohibition are far worse than anything that would result from decriminalization.

Oh lord I don't even know if I should start in on how horrifically wrong you are about this (regarding drugs). Losing the power of choice is a freaking scary thing. Doing something when you KNOW beforehand that you're going to end up in jail, or at best, in the hospital (or at worst, dead) as a result of that action and yet you have no choice to do that thing or you'll go COMPLETELY FREAKING BATSH8T and your mouth goes dry in anticipation and you cannot CANNOT thing of anything ANYTHING ANYTHING except getting something and needing something and DEAR GOD PLEASE MAKE IT STOP I DONT WANT TO DO THIS and youre SCREAMING in your head stop stop STOP....

Well yeah, it's a mental disease/condition. It is a disease in the same way that depression is a disease (a clinically depressed person cannot just "get over it".) With drug addiction specifically, addicts have had their brain chemistry altered (having to do with the pleasure centers of the brain). It is an obsession that cannot be turned off no matter how much willpower you think you have. There are people who are heavy users of their drug of choice, and there are people who cannot stop. The latter people we call addicts.

AA is a fraud? FYI there are a number of people on LOT that would be six feet under if it wasn't for AA. There are people who have been sober for decades through the 12 step programs who could not do it without AA. Even if you consider it to be brainwashing, if it makes hopeless addicts into responsible human beings actually contributing to society, then who the hell are you to judge?

Drug addiction not a public health issue? There are people who cannot control their drinking and then get behind the wheel of a car with or without their license.

Drunk driving not a public health issue? Doesn't affect anyone but the drunk now, does it?

The meth user will stop going to work, will alienate all friends, they drain their grieving parents and family members financially, they will lose the willpower to care about things like using condoms and ends up with AIDS which they then pass along to other people. Maybe they impregnate someone and then their baby is born HIV positive. I HAVE SEEN THIS HAPPEN WITH MY OWN EYES. But ho! They have my "sympathy". Boo hoo for them. Sorry, but f*ck your sympathy.

Addicts need treatment or they will die from the drug itself or various drug-related diseases and issues (and the vast majority take other people down with them). Addiction IS a public health issue. There are certain drugs which will drag you by your balls, screaming down into hell before you know what the f*ck hit you.

But ho, at least decriminalization will save a few dealers from lives of crime. How lovely for them.

Kevy Baby · 07-13-2007, 05:48 PM

Well stated Cherney. I applaud your post.

Not Afraid · 07-13-2007, 05:59 PM

AA works for some but not all - and considering how powerful addiction is over ANYTHING that tries to help, it's a damn good thing it does work for some. Frankly, I think the people who AA doesn't work for don't really want help. They know they need it, even occasionally want it, but can't make it far enough to maintain some sort of regular recovery. Even in AA, relapses are not uncommon - such is the power of the addiction.

I've always thought that part of the problem with people getting help is the stigma associated with addiction. If someone gets cancer, they usually (not all, but usually) go to a doctor to get treatment. More often than not, an addict doesn't respond in the same logical way. Part of the issue is that addiction not only messes with the body, but messes with the ability to think coherently. It is a mental disease as well as a physical disease. We have a long history in the US of treating things that effect one's mind not as something to be treated pro actively, but as something sad and untreatable. Alcoholism and addiction is just as treatable as cancer, but the type of treatment is very different.

Alex · 07-13-2007, 06:17 PM

Yes, AA is a fraud. Now, frauds can help people but there is no indication that AA is any more successful than any other treatment out there including simply trying to go cold turkey. If you feel AA helped, then fine, but there is no objective reason to believe AA is anything more than a placebo effect. Like I said, watch the AA episode of Bull****. But if people want to do it then that is fine by me, my major complaint with it is that it is frequently legally mandated and despite what proponents will say, it is a religious program. If I were ever convicted of a DUI, odds are good that my government would give me the choice of going to jail or participating in a religious institution. That pisses me off, both at the government and at AA; the fact that it is placebo isn't good either.

Like I said, addiction is a condition beyond personal control. Becoming addicted is not.

Yes, drunk driving is an issue, it is not, however, and addiction issue. A drunk driver is just as much an issue whether or not the driver is an alcoholic.

I have seen meth addiction with my own eyes as well. Also people who destroyed their lives with alcohol, heroin, and pot. I still stand by my view of things.

People choose to take risks, just because the risk doesn't work out for them does not inherently make it a societal problem. People who choose to do drugs and become addicted have about as much sympathy from me as the base jumper who eventually gets a parachute that doesn't open. That's too bad, but you rolled the dice. I'm going to help if I can, but I don't consider it some kind of accidental disease.

So, you think I am horrifyingly wrong. And I think you are horrifyingly wrong. I suspect you'll have more people agreeing with you.

07-13-2007, 04:52 PM	#1
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	Addiction in America I was surprised by some statistics on addiction reported by Time Magazine this week, specifically regarding how many Americans are addicted to which type of substances or behaviors. I think our priorities to address and combat addiction are rather skewed, considering the reportedly true numbers of addicts and their actual addictions. Booze - 18.7 million people are addicted to alcohol, or 7% of the U.S. population. AA has 2 million members. 12,000 new people try alcohol for the first time every day. Drugs - 3.6 million people are dependent on drugs. 700,00 are undergoing treatment for addiction. On average, 8,000 people try drugs for the first time each day. More then half of these are females under the age of 18. Marijuana, cocaine and pain relievers are the leading drugs of abuse. Tobacco - There are about 71.5 million users of tobacco products in the U.S. About 23.4% of men and 18.5% of women are cigarette smokers, with cigarette use lowest in the Western states and highest in the Midwest. 44.3% of young adults ages 18 to 25 use tobacco, the highest rate for any age group. Caffeine - Caffeine is the most widely used mood-altering drug in the world, and is routinely ingested by about 80% to 90% of Americans, primarily through soda and coffee. A daily brewed cup of joe, with 100mg of caffeine, can lead to physical dependence. Withdrawal symptoms are experienced by 40% to 70% of those trying to quit. Food - Food addiction affects as many as 4 million adults, and is strongly linked to depression. About 15% of mildly obese people are compulsive eaters. Binge eating, thought to be the most common eating disorder in America, is considered bulimia when a person purges to lose weight. Gambling - Two million Americans, or 0.67% of the population, are thought to be pathological gamblers, wagering heedless of the consequences. An additional 4 million to 8 million are considered problem gamblers. Shopping - At least 1 in 20 Americans is a compulsive shopper. The addiction affects both genders almost equally. Sex - About 16 million Americans suffer from compulsive sexual behavior, the least understood of addictions. A third are women. About 60% of all sex addicts were abused in childhood. An addict is dependent on the neurochemical changes that take place during sex and is consumed by sexual thoughts. The Internet - Like compulsive gambling, internet addiction is thought to be an impulse-control disorder that can disrupt social relationships. There is disagreement as to whether it should be formally considered a disorder. Though substance abusers strive for abstinence, an internet addict’s goal is to attain moderation. Any surprises for you? Anything you care to discuss about addiction, resources and methods to combat addiction, myths and truths about addiction? Don’t get addicted to this thread, but please contribute - if you can handle it.
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07-13-2007, 04:57 PM	#2
Ponine Virgin Ears Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: San Diego Posts: 2,075	No surprises there for me. I knew about my personal food addiction related to depression. And I attended S-ANON meetings in my late teens. And tobacco.... I was surprised by the highest age group. __________________ There's something strange, There's something wrong. I see a change - It's like when love dies.
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07-13-2007, 05:05 PM	#3
Morrigoon I throw stones at houses Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Location: Location Posts: 9,534	I am one who engages in "retail therapy" __________________ http://bash.org/?top "It is useless for sheep to pass a resolution in favor of vegetarianism while wolves remain of a different opinion." -- William Randolph Inge
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07-13-2007, 05:05 PM	#4
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Hard for me to say much useful on addiction. I have never smoked, never done any "illicit" drug more than once (technically tried LSD twice but the first dose was apparently a dud; to make up for it I have never taken the lightest of samplings of pot). Rarely drink caffeine and have an alcoholic drink maybe six times a year. I can have sex any time I want it but it hardly interferes with my life and I have a shopping anti-addiction. I do like the gambling but again have never done it in a way that is at all dangerous to my lifestyle. I'm fat but don't think I would qualify as having an eating disorder. The internet is probably the closest thing but it is also my social environment and occupation and I have no problem experiencing life away from it either. I will admit to simultaneously understanding that addiction is not a voluntary condition while feeling that becoming addicted is. So while I view the former as a medical condition I view the latter as a personal failure which renders me less than entirely sympathetic. I do think that while it may be a medical condition, the move over the last 30 years to treat it on a disease model is not good. I consider AA to be a fraud (see that episode of Bull**** to understand my point of view). I do not think addiction is sufficient cause for criminalization, nor do I consider it a public health issue. All drugs should be legal to any adults who want them and anybody who ends up in a bad relationship with those drugs has my sympathy and I hope they can kick the habit but they did choose (with very few exceptions) to get there, even if choosing to get back from there is not so easy. The societal evils of prohibition are far worse than anything that would result from decriminalization.
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07-13-2007, 05:33 PM	#5
Kevy Baby Chowder Head Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Yes Posts: 18,500	I have an eating disorder: I am bulimic. I just keep forgetting to purge. Seriously though, I at times feel as though I have an addictive behavior, but nothing that seems to take over my life. __________________ The thing about quotes on the internet is that you cannot verify their validity. - Abraham Lincoln
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07-13-2007, 05:44 PM	#6
Not Afraid HI! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 17,108	Addiction of one part behavioral / emotional and one part physical - at least substance abuse usually is. I have no clue about gambling or shopping (other than I like one and despise the other).
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07-13-2007, 05:48 PM	#8
Kevy Baby Chowder Head Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Yes Posts: 18,500	Well stated Cherney. I applaud your post. __________________ The thing about quotes on the internet is that you cannot verify their validity. - Abraham Lincoln
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07-13-2007, 05:59 PM	#9
Not Afraid HI! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 17,108	AA works for some but not all - and considering how powerful addiction is over ANYTHING that tries to help, it's a damn good thing it does work for some. Frankly, I think the people who AA doesn't work for don't really want help. They know they need it, even occasionally want it, but can't make it far enough to maintain some sort of regular recovery. Even in AA, relapses are not uncommon - such is the power of the addiction. I've always thought that part of the problem with people getting help is the stigma associated with addiction. If someone gets cancer, they usually (not all, but usually) go to a doctor to get treatment. More often than not, an addict doesn't respond in the same logical way. Part of the issue is that addiction not only messes with the body, but messes with the ability to think coherently. It is a mental disease as well as a physical disease. We have a long history in the US of treating things that effect one's mind not as something to be treated pro actively, but as something sad and untreatable. Alcoholism and addiction is just as treatable as cancer, but the type of treatment is very different.
	Submit to Quotes

07-13-2007, 06:17 PM	#10
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Yes, AA is a fraud. Now, frauds can help people but there is no indication that AA is any more successful than any other treatment out there including simply trying to go cold turkey. If you feel AA helped, then fine, but there is no objective reason to believe AA is anything more than a placebo effect. Like I said, watch the AA episode of Bull****. But if people want to do it then that is fine by me, my major complaint with it is that it is frequently legally mandated and despite what proponents will say, it is a religious program. If I were ever convicted of a DUI, odds are good that my government would give me the choice of going to jail or participating in a religious institution. That pisses me off, both at the government and at AA; the fact that it is placebo isn't good either. Like I said, addiction is a condition beyond personal control. Becoming addicted is not. Yes, drunk driving is an issue, it is not, however, and addiction issue. A drunk driver is just as much an issue whether or not the driver is an alcoholic. I have seen meth addiction with my own eyes as well. Also people who destroyed their lives with alcohol, heroin, and pot. I still stand by my view of things. People choose to take risks, just because the risk doesn't work out for them does not inherently make it a societal problem. People who choose to do drugs and become addicted have about as much sympathy from me as the base jumper who eventually gets a parachute that doesn't open. That's too bad, but you rolled the dice. I'm going to help if I can, but I don't consider it some kind of accidental disease. So, you think I am horrifyingly wrong. And I think you are horrifyingly wrong. I suspect you'll have more people agreeing with you.
	Submit to Quotes