Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs

Index: Health

Health - Alcohol, Tobacco, & Other Drugs

What We Measured | Highlights
Related Studies | Additional Resources

What We Measured:

Highlights:

Alcohol related offenses are consistently the most common reason for adult arrests. From 2001 to 2010, the overall number of adult arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol declined by 37.5% in the 8th Judicial District. (Adult Alcohol & Drug Arrests)
Since 2003, Larimer County has failed to meet the Healthy People 2010 Objective (6.0%) for adult binge drinking. (Adult Alcohol Use)
In 2009-10, 16.8% of Larimer County residents reported being smokers. This was higher than the Healthy People 2010 Objective of 12%. ( Adult Tobacco Use)
Between 2002 and 2011, alcohol-related traffic fatalities in Larimer County peaked in 2003 at 4.5 per 100,000 residents. (Alcohol Related Traffic Fatalities)
For juveniles, alcohol and drug arrests comprised approximately one third of all yearly arrests from 2001 to 2010. In 1999, a new trend began: the percent of juvenile alcohol and drug crime arrests exceeded property crime arrests. (Juvenile Alcohol & Drug Arrests)
In 2010, Larimer County and Colorado reported the highest number of treatment admissions were for alcohol abuse, averaging 42.5% of all admissions. (Substance Abuse Treatment)
From 2006 to 2010, an average of 10.7% of pregnant women in Larimer County consumed alcohol during the last three months of their pregnancy. For that same period, an average of 8.7% of pregnant women smoked. (Perinatal Alcohol and Tobacco Use)
The percentage of Hispanic teenage smokers is significantly higher in Larimer County than in the state. In addition, in Larimer County significantly more Hispanic teenagers than Whites are smokers. (Youth Tobacco Use)

Related Studies:

2012 Surgeon General's Report - Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults reports that every day 1,000 youth under age 18 become daily cigarette users.
2010 Surgeon General's Report - How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease states smoking is the leading preventable cause of premature death in the United States. Cigarettes are responsible for 1 in every 5 deaths (443,000) in the United States every year.
State of Drunk Driving Fatalities in America 2010 [pdf] reports there were 127 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in Colorado in 2009, a 19.6% decline over 2009.
According to the Colorado Meth Project, Colorado ranks #7 in the country for total meth users 12 and older.
Focus on Prevention [pdf] is a guide to help a wide range of groups and communities move from concerns about substance abuse to proven and practical solutions. (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2010)
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [pdf] reports that drinking by college students aged 18 to 24 contributes to an estimated 1,825 student deaths, 599,000 injuries, and 97,000 cases of sexual assault or date rape each year.
Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey is an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of American secondary school students, college students, and young adults.

Related issues within COMPASS:

Additional Resources:

Prevention, Education & Statistics

Colorado Department of Health & Human Services: Community Behavioral Health Division
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
- Colorado Health Information Dataset (COHID)
Colorado State University Center for Drug and Alcohol Education
Larimer County Health & Environment
National Library of Medicine - includes information about all medical conditions including substance abuse.
Poudre School District
Team Fort Collins
United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration:
- Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Statistics
- Center for Substance Abuse Prevention
- Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
Healthy People 2020 — National health targets and objectives.
World Health Organization (WHO)

Treatment & Referral

Touchstone Health Partners (formerly Larimer Center for Mental Health) - offers specialized addiction treatment services to residents of Larimer County.
Turning Point — Larimer County youth residential treatment center.
United Way 2-1-1 referral service is a non-profit information and referral agency serving the residents of Larimer County, Colorado.
Additional local health resources via the FortNet website.
Connections is a partnership of the Health District and the Larimer Center for Mental Health that provides mental health and substance abuse resources and referrals.
HealthInfoSource.com — link to Larimer County mental health and substance abuse information.
Addiction Resource Guide — comprehensive online directory of addiction treatment facilities.

Law Enforcement

Links to national resources relating to substance abuse prevention and treatment:

NIAAA Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Science Database (ETOH)
SALIS: Substance Abuse Libraries And Information Specialist is an international association of individuals and organizations with special interests in the exchange and dissemination of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) information. It includes information about books, links to searchable databases, journals and newsletters.
SAMHSA Office of Applied Studies includes statistics, information on proven practices, research and many other items relating to prevention and treatment of substance abuse and mental illness.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive: The goal of the archive is to provide ready access to substance abuse and mental health research data and to promote the sharing of these data among researchers, academics, policymakers, service providers, and others, thereby increasing the use of the data in understanding and assessing substance abuse and mental health problems and the impact of related treatment systems. The data archive is also intended to expand the variety of media on which data are available and ensure that data are in user friendly format.
The Treatment Improvement Exchange is a resource sponsored by the Division of State and Community Assistance of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment to provide information exchange between CSAT staff and State and local alcohol and substance abuse agencies. The TIE Contract is funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.