Drug Deaths Overlap Accidents in Ohio County

A recent NY Times article features Scioto County (county seat: Portsmouth) in Ohio. The article is entitled "Ohio County Losing Its Young to Painkillers' Grip" and gives a number of grim statistics, such as:

* Nearly 1 in 10 babies born in Scioto County are born addicted to drugs.
* In Ohio, the leading cause of accidental death is overdose, bypassing car accidents.
* Children as young as in junior high are being arrested for drug possession and intent to sell.

For more information on addiction and how to combat it, please visit the APA Addictions webpage, which has more information on changing behavior and dealing with addiction. To find a psychologist to help with addiction in Ohio, please visit the OPA "Referral" Page.

Recovery Month 2009

Did You Know? September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. More than 23 million people aged 12 or older needed treatment for a substance use disorder in the United States in 2007, and in Ohio alone, over 900 thousand individuals over the age of 12 per month report dependency and/or addiction to alcohol or illicit drugs. Many people do not understand that addiction is a treatable disease, and this misconception can keep people from getting help. In 2007, as many as 20.8 million people nationwide needed but did not receive treatment at a specialty facility. For more information, please visit the National Recovery Month 2009 website.

FYI: CDC Report on Drug Use and Sexual Behaviors

From the CDC, Drug Use and Sexual Behaviors Reported by Adults: United States, 1999–2002 (opens as a .pdf file). Data are from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), and are for adults age 20-59.

Did You Know? About Gambling Addiction

The National Council on Problem Gambling is the national advocate for programs and services to assist problem gamblers and their families.

Their research finds that 2%-3% of the US population will have a gambling problem in any given year. That is equal to 6 million to 9 million Americans. However, only a small fraction seek out services, such as treatment and self-help recovery programs.

Warning signs of a gambling problem include:
• Gambling for a longer time and/or more money than intended;
• Gambling in an effort to try to win back what you’ve lost;
• Lying to loved ones about the amount of time or money spent gambling

For more information and fact sheets, please visit the NCPG website at http://www.npgaw.org/.