DRUG, ALCOHOL ABUSE ON RISE IN U.S. AFTER SEPT. 11

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The emotional strain caused by the September 11
attacks on the US and threats of bioterrorism have led more Americans
to seek treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, according to study
findings released on Wednesday.

The study by the National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse at
Columbia University found that 13 states and four major US cities
detected a higher demand for treatment, including places directly
affected by the attacks--New York, Washington DC, New Jersey and
Pennsylvania.

Florida, the site of the first reports of anthrax, also reported an increase.

The center cited a report by the New York State Office of Alcoholism
and Substance Abuse Services that demand for alcohol and drug
treatment in New York City increased substantially immediately after
the World Trade Center attacks that killed about 4,000 people.

"We know that one of the major reasons for people who relapse,
whether to drinking or drugs or smoking, is stress and trauma.... The
events of September 11, and the anthrax and the constant conversation
about bioterrorism creates stress for millions of Americans," Joseph
Califano, chairman of the center and former Secretary of Health,
Education and Welfare, said in a telephone interview.

Admissions for treatment increased 10% to 12% nationally, the center
said. The increased demand for treatment surely corresponded to
higher consumption of drugs and alcohol, Califano said.

Exposure to trauma puts a person at four to five times greater risk
of substance abuse, and stress is considered the leading cause of
relapse to alcohol and drug abuse, and addiction and smoking, the
report states.

"This is only the first wave. We are almost certain to have an even
greater increase in alcohol and drug abuse and in the demand for
treatment, if Oklahoma City is any indication, and this is a more
severe and nationally engaged trauma than Oklahoma City," Califano
said.

For 2 years after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, Oklahoma
experienced a dramatic increase in the need for treatment services,
the center said.

Timothy McVeigh was executed for setting off a powerful truck bomb in
front of the Alfred P. Murrah federal office building in Oklahoma
City, killing 168 people.

A year after the bombing, three times as many residents of Oklahoma
City reported increased drinking compared with residents of
Indianapolis.

In addition, rescue workers in Oklahoma City experienced elevated
rates of substance abuse, depression and suicide, the center said.

Califano recommends a public education campaign alerting physicians,
mental health providers and clergy--people who work with individuals
under high stress--to the symptoms of substance abuse and addiction,
and favors government funding for treatment services.

The study did not include cigarette smoking, but there are other
indications that smoking also has been on the rise.

Thirty percent of people who were smokers prior to September 11
increased the number of cigarettes they consumed, and more than 5% of
people who said they had previously quit smoking relapsed, according
to a separate report by the American Cancer Society and drug maker
GlaxoSmithKline Plc last month.