Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Drug Abuse Trends in Washington State-2006 is published annually by the Washington State Division of Alcohol & Substance Abuse, and can be used to measure progress in the state's effort to prevent and treat substance abuse. The 2006 Trends Report contains information about the economic costs of substance abuse, substance abuse prevalence and trends, impacts of substance abuse, the effectiveness of prevention and treatment, and policy issues confronting the state.
Some noteworthy trends for 2006:
- Steroid use among students in Washington State is declining.
- Smoking prevalence and binge drinking among adults is declining.
- The number of reported methamphetamine labs and dumpsites is at its lowest point since 1999.
But it's not all good news:
- By 12th grade, almost 1 in 5 Washington students is already a problem drinker.
- The drug-induced death rate in Washington state is increasing rapidly.
- Sexually-transmitted diseases often associated with substance abuse have increased in prevalence.
New sections in the 2006 report provide data on Underage Drinking, the WAshington Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral, and Treatment (WASBIRT) project, and Problem and Pathological Gambling.