POLL: 1 IN 10 ABUSE DRUGS OR ALCOHOL

More than 1 in 10 Americans suffered from substance dependence or abuse of
illicit drugs, alcohol or both last year, according to a new government
survey released Friday.

The survey, based on interviews with more than 68,000 respondents age 12 or
older, estimated that 19.5 million people had used illegal drugs in the
month before being interviewed, 54 million had engaged in binge drinking
and 15.9 million considered themselves heavy drinkers.

The vast majority of people with substance disorders --- 94 percent ---
said they did not believe they needed treatment. The report by the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration indicated that
7.7 million people needed treatment for a drug problem and another 18.6
million needed help to battle alcohol, yet only 1.4 million and 1.5
million, respectively, had received treatment.

''A denial gap of over 94 percent is intolerable,'' said John Walters,
director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
''People need to understand the addictive nature of drugs and not presume
that they are all right when everyone around them knows better.''

Moreover, the report found that nearly 350,000 people who realized they
needed treatment for drug or alcohol abuse were unable to get treatment, a
number Walters said would be cut considerably if Congress approved the
additional $200 million a year President Bush is seeking for treatment
programs starting next year.

The survey, done periodically since 1972, and every year since 1991,
underwent a number of technical and substantive changes in 2002, including
paying participants $30 for answering the questions.

As a result, responses about all types of drug use and abuse were higher
than for 2001, and officials cautioned against making direct comparisons.

"We think that the higher numbers are largely because of the change in
survey methods, not because there has been any sudden change in trends of
behaviors," said Charles Curie, head of the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration.

Illegal drug use is highest among adults 18 to 25 years old, with more than
20 percent using them in the past month.

The report noted a continued increase in the number of teens and young
adults who had ''ever used'' marijuana and cocaine. Marijuana is still the
most commonly used illicit drug, with 14.6 million people smoking it in 2002.

The second-most-popular category of drug use after marijuana was the
non-medical use of prescription drugs. An estimated 6.2 million people ---
2.6 percent of the population aged 12 or older --- were current users of
prescription drugs taken without a medical reason. Of these, an estimated
4.4 million used narcotic pain relievers and 1.8 million used anti-anxiety
medications.

One positive note from the survey was that among those under 18, the number
of new daily smokers decreased from about 3,000 per day in 2000 to about
2,000 per day in 2001.