title: Global use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco.
abstract: Humans have always used drugs, probably as part of their evolutionary and nutritional heritage. However, this previous biological adaptation is unlikely to be so in the modern world, in which 2 billion adults (48% of the adult population) are current users of alcohol, 1.1 billion adults (29% of the adult population) are current smokers of cigarettes and 185 million adults (4.5% of the adult population) are current users of illicit drugs. The use of drugs is determined largely by market forces, with increases in affordability and availability increasing use. People with socio-economic deprivation, however measured, are at increased risk of harmful drug use, as are those with a disadvantaged family environment, and those who live in a community with higher levels of substance use. Substance use is on the increase in low-income countries which, in the coming decades, will bear a disproportionate burden of substance-related disability and premature death.
authors.affiliation: pdanderson@compuserve.com
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001208:Asia / Q000453:epidemiology; D017691:Caribbean Region / Q000453:epidemiology; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D015994:Incidence; D007843:Latin America / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs