Our Picture of Health 1998:
Focusing on Community Health to the Year 2000CHAPTER 7: HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
SUBSTANCE ABUSE (PART 1)
62. Alcohol Usage
The Healthy People 2000 goal is to reduce alcohol consumption by people aged 14 and older to an annual average of no more than 2 gallons of ethanol per person.
Fewer adult respondents in the Risk Behavior Survey reported binge drinking in 1997 than in 1994. Binge drinkers are those who have consumed five or more drinks on any one occasion during the past month.
More than half of the survey respondents reported they drink alcohol at least once a month. Almost 3% are chronic drinkers. More men than women, and young than old, drink. Those with higher incomes are more often drinkers.
Figures 7-38 and 39 show alcohol use among young people.
May link to . . .
- Crime
- Domestic Violence
- Physical Health
- Mental Health
Figure 7-34: Percent of Respondents Who Binge Drink
Source: 1997 Risk Behavior Survey
63. Intoxicated Drivers
The Healthy People 2000 goal is to reduce alcohol-related motor vehicle deaths to no more than 8.5 per 100,000 people.
Slightly more respondents reported drinking and driving in 1997 than in 1994. The total number of those drinking and driving is considerable. About 1,150 adults acknowledge having driven after drinking. This translates to nearly 40 drinking drivers per day on the streets of Mesa County. There were 490 adult DUI arrests in 1996.
May link to . . .
- DUI Arrests
- Transportation
- Domestic Violence
- Substance Abuse
- Negligent Manslaughter
- Motor Vehicle Accidents
Figure 7-35: Percent of Respondents Who Drink and Drive in the Past Month
Source: 1997 Risk Behavior Survey
64. Tobacco Use
The Healthy People 2000 goal is to reduce cigarette smoking to a prevalence of no more than 15% among people 20 years and older.
In 1997, 19.4% respondents reported smoking. This is somewhat fewer than the 22.2% who reported smoking in 1994, but doesn't reach the national goal of 15%. The average smoker in Mesa County smokes 16 cigarettes per day.
Almost 24% of women of childbearing age smoke, and 41% of those living below the poverty level are self-reported smokers.
Smoking among students is also increasing, with 16% of 10th graders reporting they are daily smokers. In addition, 4% use smokeless tobacco daily.
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death.
May link to . . .
- Asthma
- Economy
- Lung Cancer
- Mental Health
- Heart Disease
- Low-weight Births
- COPD (Lung Disease)
- High Blood Pressure
Figure 7-36: Percent of Respondents Who are Currently Smokers
Source: 1997 Risk Behavior Survey
65. Where Students Use Substances
Figure 7-37 shows the sites where School District #51 10th graders reported using drugs and alcohol in the past year.
For the 10th graders who use drugs, the number of reported sites increased. Drug use is no longer limited to occasional parties, but has moved into the everyday life of many students: 34% say they used drugs at night with friends and 28% claimed they used drugs either on the way to or at school, which may mean that learning is impacted.
Figure 7-37: Location of Drug and Alcohol Abuse by Students
Source: American Drug and Alcohol Survey: Mesa County 1998
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