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Features for Senior Citizens
Boomers Using More Drugs, Teens Less but Seniors
Just Don't Do It
Senior citizens do not drink, smoke or use drugs
like young folks
By Tucker Sutherland, editor
September 8, 2006 The nation's reporters and
editors focused on the increase of drug use by baby boomers and the
decrease among young people both good leads but for us it is always
shocking to see how little drug use there is among senior citizens. Not
only to the elderly spurn drugs, they also don't smoke or drink much
alcohol. Below are charts and highlights of the latest report from the
Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration.
This initial report from the 2005 National Survey
on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), released at the annual observance of
National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month Observance, focuses
on significant trends in substance abuse and mental health problems
since 2002.
Current illicit drug use among youth ages 12-17
continues to decline, heralds the report. The rate has been moving
downward from 11.6 percent using drugs in the past month in 2002 to 11.2
percent in 2003, 10.6 percent in 2004 and 9.9 percent in 2005.
For young adults, ages 18-25, the picture is
mixed. While there were no significant changes in overall past month
use of any illicit drugs in this age group between 2002 and 2005,
cocaine use increased from 2.0 in 2002 to 2.6 percent in 2005.
Past-month non-medical use of prescription drugs
among young adults increased from 5.4 percent in 2002 to 6.3 percent in
2005, due largely to an increase in the non-medical use of narcotic pain
relievers. The rate was 4.1 percent in 2002 and 4.7 percent in 2003,
2004 and 2005.
The news today is there is a fundamental shift in
drug use among young people in America, said Assistant Surgeon General
Eric B. Broderick, D.D.S., M.P.H., SAMHSA Acting Deputy Administrator.
We first saw this shift towards healthier decisions when rates of
tobacco use among young people began to go down. Now, we see a
sustained drop in rates of drug use. We will see if the decline in
drinking among 12 to 17 years olds becomes a continued pattern as well.
Baby Boomers
The baby boomer generation presents a different
story. Among adults aged 50 to 59, the rate of current illicit drug use
increased from 2.7 percent to 4.4 percent between 2002 and 2005,
reflecting the aging into this age group - the baby boom cohort, the
agency says.
Senior Citizens, however, are even another story.
In the charts below, it is obvious they are not drug, alcohol or tobacco
users - at least compared to the younger age groups. Less than one
percent of Americans age 65 or older used an illicit drug in the month
before the survey.
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Rates of drug use are
associated with age.
Past Month Illicit Drug Use among
Persons Aged 12 or Older, by Age: 2005
Among youths aged 12 to 17, the rates
of current illicit drug use increased with age: 3.8 percent
at ages 12 or 13, 8.9 percent at ages 14 or 15, and 17.0
percent at ages 16 or 17. The highest rate was among persons
aged 18 to 20 (22.3 percent). The rate was 18.7 percent
among those aged 21 to 25 and declined steadily with
increasing age among older adults. |
 |
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Past Month Illicit Drug Use among
Adults Aged 50 to 59: 2002-2005
The statistics that have many
concerned is the increased use of illicit drugs by baby
boomers.
Among adults aged 50 to 59, the rate
of current illicit drug use increased between 2002 and 2005.
For those aged 50 to 54, the rate increased from 3.4 to 5.2
percent, but this increase was not statistically
significant. Among those aged 55 to 59, the rate increased
significantly from 1.9 to 3.4 percent. This may reflect the
aging into these age groups of the baby boom cohort, which
has a relatively higher rate of lifetime illicit drug use
than older cohorts have. |
 |
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Current, Binge, and Heavy Alcohol
Use among Persons Aged 12 or Older, by Age: 2005
In 2005, rates of current alcohol use
were 4.2 percent among persons aged 12 or 13, 15.1 percent
of persons aged 14 or 15, 30.1 percent of 16 or 17 year
olds, 51.1 percent of those aged 18 to 20, and 67.4 percent
of 21 to 25 year olds. Among older age groups, the
prevalence of alcohol use decreased with increasing age,
from 63.7 percent among 26 to 29 year olds to 47.5 percent
among 60 to 64 year olds and 40.0 percent among people aged
65 or older. |
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Past Month Cigarette Use, by Age:
2005 |
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