Drug Addiction Deaths

11/29/2005

Americans consider driving while impaired by alcohol or other drugs the nation's greatest highway safety problem, according to a 2005 Gallup poll. According to the poll, 37% of the people surveyed consider driving while alcohol impaired to be the worst problem, yet 60% of those same people admitted they had driven a vehicle while drunk or near-drunk, a number up from 57% in 2000.

"This poll clearly shows impairment and driving to be a major concern, especially during the holidays which is a time of increased drinking and increased driving", said Joanna Young, national president of www.DrugAddictionHelpline.com .

In another alarming report, more people age 40 and older are dying of drug overdoses. This is double the rate recorded in 1990 in a little-noticed trend that dispels the notion of hard-core drug use being primarily a young person's problem. Overdoses among baby boomers are driving an overall increase so dramatic that soon drug deaths may surpass automobile accidents as a leading cause of
non-natural deaths.


Based on state health data, according to calculations on males, the age by which someone was most likely to die from a drug overdose in 1970 was 22; by 1985, it was 32 and today it is 43.

For help with overcoming drug or alcohol addiction go to; www.DrugAddictionHelpline.com

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