New National Inhalant Data- NSDUH

Last week, the results of the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) were released.

The annual survey is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and is considered the “primary source of information on the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the United States aged 12 years old or older.” It surveys approximately 67,500 persons each year.

From the findings:

• From 2002-2008 there were decreases in the use of inhalants (from 0.5 to 0.3%)
  
  
• There was no significant change in the number of inhalant initiates from 2007 to 2008, but the 2008 estimate was significantly below the number in 2003 (871,000), 2004 (857,000), and 2005 (877,000).
  
  
• However, there was a significant decrease in the average age at first use among recent initiates aged 12 to 49 from 2007 (17.1 years) to 2008 (15.9 years).
  
  
• In 2008, 9.7% of respondents, aged 12 or older, reported inhalants as their first drug.
  
  
• In 2008, there were 729,000 persons aged 12 or older who had used inhalants for the first time within the past 12 months; 70.4% were under age 18 when they first used.
  
  
• In 2008: 1.1% of youths aged 12 to 17 used inhalants; 1.2% of 12-13 year olds; 1.3% of 14-15 year olds; 0.7% of 16-17 year olds
  
  
• From 2002 to 2008, there were declines in young adults' past month inhalant use (from 0.5 to 0.3%)
  
  
• In 2008, among adults aged 26 or older, 0.1% have used inhalants
  
  
• Among youths aged 12 to 17 in 2008, males and females had similar rates of current use of inhalants (1.1% for both).
  
  
• In 2008, inhalants came in 5th for the specific drug categories with the largest number of recent initiates among persons aged 12 or older: inhalants (0.7 million)

The table below compares the 2002-2008 data from both the NSDUH and Monitoring the Future (MTF) national studies.

New Substance Abuse Messaging Data from NSDUH

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) recently released “Exposure to Substance Use Prevention Messages and Substance Use among Adolescents: 2002 to 2007.”

Some interesting findings within the report:

• From 2002-2007 less adolescents reported exposure to drug or alcohol use prevention message through media (5.3%) and programs outside of school (1.4%)
  
• During the same period, 1.5% more adolescents report that they talked with their parents about the dangers of drug, alcohol, or tobacco use within the past year.
  
• However, in 2007, fewer adolescents report talking with their parents about these dangers than in 2004, 2005, and 2006.
  
• Talking with a parent about substance use decreased with age (ie more 12 & 13 year olds report talking with their parents about this than 16 &17 year olds) but conversely, the older the adolescent, the more likely to receive prevention messages through media.
  
• In general, adolescents who reported having been exposed to substance abuse messages within the past year were less likely to use cigarettes, alcohol, and illicit drugs in the past month.


• From 2002-2007, females were more than males to have talked with a parent about the dangers of substance abuse, to have received prevention messages through media sources, and to have received prevention messages through school sources in the past year.

New National Inhalant Data

The results of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health’s “Trends in Adolescent Inhalant Use: 2002 to 2007” were released today at a press conference in Washington, DC.

The report noted:

• In 2007, almost 1.0 million adolescents used inhalants in the past year.
  
• The percentage of adolescents (youths aged 12 to 17) who used inhalants in the past year was lower in 2007 (3.9%) than in 2003 (4.5%), 2004 (4.6%), and 2005 (4.5%).
  
• Among first time users in the past year, the rate of use of nitrous oxide or “whippits” declined between 2002 and 2007 for both male and females. (males 40.2% to 20.2%)(females (22.3 to 12.2%)


• Use of aerosol spray other than spray paint was higher in 2007 than 2002 (25% versus 12.6%)


• In 2007, 17.2% of adolescents who initiated illicit drug use during the past year indicated that inhalants were the first drug they used. This rate remained relatively stable between 2002 and 2007.


• In 2007, 2.1% of adolescents who had not previously used inhalants began using them during the 12 months prior to the survey.