National Drug And Alcohol Facts Week: Learn The Truth About Substance Use

Substance use challenges are increasingly common worldwide and are associated with various mental and physical health risks. Because adolescents are at a high risk of complications surrounding substance use, National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week (NDAFW) was founded to drive awareness of teen health statistics and to start a dialogue about the science of drug addiction among youth.

In this article, we’ll learn about National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week and the statistics behind it to encourage a healthier and more informed community. 

Learn about National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week

According to the website of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week “is an annual health observance that inspires dialogue about the science of drug use and addiction among youth.” The weeklong event provides an opportunity to unite scientists, students, educators, healthcare providers, and community-based organizations to “advance science and address youth drug and alcohol use in communities and nationwide.”

History of National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week 

National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week (NDAFW) was launched in 2010. Initially called National Drug Facts Week, it was conceived by the National Institute on Drug Abuse to promote educational community events for teenagers and adolescents to combat the spread of myths about substance use and addiction and replace those myths with science-based information. 

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) became an official partner six years later, in 2016, adding alcohol as a topic area for the event and prompting a name change to National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the NIAAA are part of the federal government’s National Institutes of Health. All three organizations work closely with other federal, state, and local government entities, media outlets, nonprofits, community organizations, school systems, and other companies to spread the word about NDAFW and plan NDAFW events. 

If you are interested in participating, you can spread the word on social media, inform people about substance use, or stimulate educational events officially endorsed by NDAFW to reach a broader audience. If you are interested in the latter, your event planners can plan and register your event through the official site.

Facts about youth and teen substance use

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the most recent Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (YRBS) System surveys, completed in 2021, show that overall substance use is declining among teenagers. The COVID-19 pandemic may have accelerated this trend, but the decline has been occurring since 2009, so it was already underway by the time the pandemic started. However, a significant number of teenagers report still using substances, with many saying they have used substances in the past 30 days.

Below are additional quick facts about youth substance use, all from the YRBS survey:

• About 29% of high school students report using alcohol, cannabis, or illicit opioids in the past month, with 34% of that group indicating that they used more than one of the three substances. 

• Alcohol and cannabis are the most common substances teenagers report using.

• About 11% of teenagers binge drink, defined as consuming more than five drinks in a one-hour period for boys and more than four drinks in a one-hour period for girls.

• The least commonly reported substances teenagers use are ecstasy, cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin. 

• All forms of substance use have declined among teenagers since 2019, except for opioid use, which has remained steady, and inhalant use, which has increased slightly. 

• Girls are more likely to use substances than boys, with the exception of heroin, which boys are more likely to use than girls.

• High school students identifying as LGBTQ+ are more likely to use substances than those who identify as straight and cisgender.

If you’re an LGBTQ+ youth or young adult in crisis, reach out to The Trevor Project hotline by calling 1-866-488-7386 or texting “START” to 678-678. You can also use their online chat. 

How to talk to teenagers about drug misuse

The emerging consensus on the most effective ways to discuss substance use with teenagers indicates that honesty can be paramount. Research from 1996 has shown that previous substance use prevention programs based on scare tactics, such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE), were ineffective in deterring youth substance use, largely due, in part, to the information communicated being inaccurate, cherry-picked, or presented as representative of all substance use, when in reality it focused on worst-case scenarios.

Teenagers may have already been exposed to substance use, whether their friends are experimenting, they are trying substances themselves, or they have observed parents and other family members using substances (as can be common with alcohol and tobacco). Depicting the consequences of substance use in a catastrophic way may lead to adolescents disengaging and dismissing the message, especially if they know people
who use substances without experiencing severe repercussions.

Instead, consider communicating the negative impacts of substance use with accurate facts. While casual substance use may not have any immediate negative effect on their life, all substance use carries a risk of dependence and potential addiction. 

One reality of substance use is the danger of accidental overdose, as nowadays, many illicit substances may be marketed as one type of drug but can be laced with much more powerful drugs, like fentanyl. Discussing harm reduction strategies, like using fentanyl testing strips or not driving if you plan to drink or use a substance, may help reduce the risk of health and safety issues related to substance use. Harm-reduction strategies have been proven to reduce the risk of death and improve community safety.

Explain to your teenager that substance use is not a healthy coping mechanism. You can talk to them about the reasons why people may use substances, including to numb unpleasant emotions like sadness and anxiety. Naming this tendency, which can be a root cause of casual substance use morphing into addiction, may encourage your teenager to recognize when they may be experiencing such emotions and how to process them healthily, as opposed to turning to drugs.

Teens can test their knowledge by taking the National Drug and Alcohol IQ Challenge interactive quiz.

Finding support for addressing substance use

People experiencing substance misuse may find it difficult to seek help or may not be able to commute to in-person sessions with a therapist or counselor. With online therapy, you can attend sessions with a licensed therapist from the comfort of your home without the need to commute to your mental healthcare provider’s office. You can also message your therapist at any time, and they will respond when they can, which may be helpful if you’re navigating temptations for substance use throughout the day. 

Research indicates that online therapy may be an effective alternative to in-person therapy for people experiencing substance use disorder. One review of 13 studies reviewing the effects of medication treatment and therapy suggests that internet-based therapy may be an effective alternative treatment for people with substance use disorders when in-person therapy is not available.