Addiction Statistics

The truth of the matter is that if you have any sort of addiction you are not alone. Addiction statistics produced by the Royal Society of Arts estimate that in England and Wales alone there are between 250,000 and 350,000 regular ‘problem users’ of crack, heroin or cocaine.

While addiction statistics vary from country to country and from year to year, the vast scale of addictions throughout the world cannot be denied.

Inevitably, addiction statistics tend to focus on the negative aspects of addictions and addictive behavior, but it should always be borne in mind that addiction is an illness, and that having an addiction does not automatically confer criminal status or second-class citizenship upon you.

Addiction can be beaten and it can be recovered from. If you, or someone that you know and care about, has an addiction it is not too late to get help for it. You really do not have to be another statistic.

Drug addiction statistics

• It is estimated that around 16,000 deaths are caused each year in the United States through addiction to illegal drugs. (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
• As many as 40,000 people in the United Kingdom are addicted to drugs freely available over the counter. (The Over-Count Charity)
• According to the United Nations the estimated number of regular users of heroin, cocaine and synthetic drugs worldwide is 50 million.
• The value of the illegal drugs trade in the United Kingdom is placed between 4 and 6.6 billion pounds. (The Home Office)
• An estimated 40,000 heroin addicts in Britain are taking the drug methadone as part of their treatment for heroin addiction, although recent research by the University of Glasgow indicates that less than 4% of these addicts will conquer their addiction using this method.

Alcohol addiction statistics

• Alcohol addiction is responsible for approximately 100,000 deaths per year in the United States.
• According to research conducted in 2005 by Britain’s Health Development Agency, 1.1 million people in England and Wales were considered to be alcohol dependent.
• Each day, more than twenty children and teenagers are admitted to hospital for alcohol-related illnesses. (Department of Health)
• There has been a 100% increase in the number of fatalities from alcohol-related illnesses in England and Wales in the last fifteen years. (The Office for National Statistics)
• The lives of up to 1.3 million children are affected as a result of their parents’ drinking habits. (Alcohol Concern)

Nicotine addiction statistics

• Around 75% of cigarette smokers begin smoking in their teen years (Action on Smoking and Health)
• More than 100,000 people in the UK die each year from smoking-related diseases (ASH)
• Nicotine is comparably as addictive as heroin (Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health)
• Only 3% of habitual smokers manage to end their addiction using willpower alone (ASH)

Other addiction statistics

• According to research, 76% of gambling addicts are liable to experience severe depression. (Unwin Davis and Leeuw, 2000)
• Research conducted in 2009 identified 7% of online gamers as being at risk of developing psychological and behavioral dependence on online computer games (Hussain et al, 2009)

Do not add to addiction statistics

These are just a few examples of the kinds of addiction statistics that are produced by governments, charities and health authorities around the world every year.

They may make for uncomfortable or even shocking reading. You do not need to add yourself to addiction statistics. Make your story a success story instead.

All you have to do in order to avoid joining the statistical tables is to honestly assess whether you or somebody that you know has succumbed to an addiction. If you believe that you do have an addiction, can accept and acknowledge that belief and are willing to seek the necessary help to overcome your addiction, then congratulations! You are already on the road to recovery and your chances of ending up as just another addiction statistic are already disappearing.

The next step is to get in touch with any of the professional addiction specialists who can help you to get clean and start living your life afresh, free from addiction.