section_path: Epidemiology/United States
section_name: United States
paragraph_text: United States
  
  Based on representative samples of the US youth population in 2011, the lifetime prevalence of addictions to alcohol and illicit drugs has been estimated to be approximately 8% and 2–3% respectively. Based on representative samples of the US adult population in 2011, the 12-month prevalence of alcohol and illicit drug addictions were estimated at 12% and 2–3% respectively. The lifetime prevalence of prescription drug addictions is around 4.7%.
  
  As of 2021, 43.7 million people aged 12 or older surveyed by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health in the United States needed treatment for an addiction to alcohol, nicotine, or other drugs. The groups with the highest number of people were 18–25 years (25.1%) and "American Indian or Alaska Native" (28.7%). Only about 10%, or a little over 2 million, receive any form of treatments, and those that do generally do not receive evidence-based care. One-third of inpatient hospital costs and 20% of all deaths in the US every year are the result of untreated addictions and risky substance use. In spite of the massive overall economic cost to society, which is greater than the cost of diabetes and all forms of cancer combined, most doctors in the US lack the training to effectively address a drug addiction.
  
  Estimates of lifetime prevalence rates in the US are 1–2% for compulsive gambling, 5% for sexual addiction, 2.8% for food addiction, and 5–6% for compulsive shopping. The time-invariant prevalence rate for sexual addiction and related compulsive sexual behavior (e.g., compulsive masturbation with or without pornography, compulsive cybersex, etc.) within the US ranges from 3–6% of the population.
  
  According to a 2017 poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, almost half of US adults know a family member or close friend who has struggled with a drug addiction at some point in their life.
  
  In 2019, opioid addiction was acknowledged as a national crisis in the United States. An article in The Washington Post stated that "America's largest drug companies flooded the country with pain pills from 2006 through 2012, even when it became apparent that they were fueling addiction and overdoses."
  
  The National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions found that from 2012 to 2013 the prevalence of Cannabis use disorder in U.S. adults was 2.9%.