ROCKVILLE, Md. – The two U.S. metropolitan areas with the highest rates of past month illicit drug use are San Francisco (12.7 percent) and Detroit (9.5 percent) while the national average was 8.1 percent, says a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Chicago (25.7 percent) and Houston (25.6 percent) had higher rates of binge drinking than the national average (22.7 percent), and Detroit was the only metropolitan statistical area with a past month cigarette use rate that was higher than the national average (25.3 percent).

The NSDUH Report: “Substance Use in the 15 Largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas: 2002-2005” compares estimates for illicit drug use, binge alcohol use and cigarette use for the nation as a whole with the same behaviors in the 15 largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs).

An MSA is a core area containing a large population nucleus together with adjacent communities having a high degree of economic and social integration with that core. Approximately one third of the U.S. population lived in the 15 largest MSAs in 2005.

“Previous research has shown that rates of substance use vary across states and within areas within states,” said Assistant Surgeon General Eric Broderick, D.D.S., M.P.H., SAMHSA Acting Deputy Administrator. “This new report, with bar graphs showing rates of use for each substance, provides a very clear snapshot of which of the 15 major metropolitan areas have serious problems and which have rates comparable to or less than the national averages.”

All estimates of substance use in the report are annual averages based on combined data from the 2002 to 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Illicit drugs refer to marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack), inhalants, hallucinogens, heroin, or prescription-type drugs used nonmedically. Binge alcohol use is defined as drinking five or more drinks on the same occasion (i.e., at the same time or within a couple of hours of each other) on at least one day in the past 30 days.

MSAs with rates of illicit drug use that were lower than the national average include Houston (6.2 percent), Dallas (6.5 percent), and Washington, DC (6.5 percent). Rates of binge drinking were lower than the national average in the Los Angeles (18.6 percent) Riverside/San Bernardino (19 percent), Washington, DC (19 percent), and New York (21.3 percent) MSAs. The Los Angeles (17.9 percent), San Francisco (17.9 percent), Riverside/San Bernardino (19.2 percent), Washington, DC (19.8 percent), Boston (20.8 percent), Seattle (21.4 percent), Miami (22 percent), and New York (22.5 percent) MSAs all had lower rates of past month cigarette use than the nation as a whole.

The complete report is available online at http://oas.samhsa.gov.

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SAMHSA press release

  The NSDUH Report is published periodically by the Office of Applied Studies. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is an annual survey sponsored by SAMHSA. The survey collects data by administering questionnaires to a representative sample of the population through face-to-face interviews at their place of residence.

Report Highlights:

• Among the 15 largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), the San Francisco (12.7 percent) and Detroit (9.5 percent) MSAs had rates of past month illicit drug use that were significantly higher than the rate for the Nation as a whole (8.1 percent) during the combined years of 2002 to 2005
• Among the 15 largest MSAs, the Chicago (25.7 percent) and Houston (25.6 percent) MSAs had higher rates of binge drinking than the national average (22.7 percent)
• Among the 15 largest MSAs, only the Detroit (27.4 percent) MSA had a rate of past month cigarette use that was higher than the national average (25.3 percent)

Percentages of Persons Aged 12 or Older Reporting Past Month Use of Any Illicit Drug,** by Metropolitan Statistical Areas: 2002-2005

Metropolitan Statistical Area Percentage

• Total United States   8.1
• New York   7.6
• Los Angeles   8.2
• Chicago   8.2
• Philadelphia   9.1
• Dallas***  6.5
• Miami   8.2
• Houston***  6.2
• Washington, DC***  6.5
• Atlanta   8.3
• Detroit***  9.5
• Boston   8.5
• San Francisco*** 12.7
• Riverside/San Bernardino   6.5
• Phoenix   7.6
• Seattle   9.6

Percentages of Persons Aged 12 or Older Reporting Past Month Binge Alcohol Use,+ by Metropolitan Statistical Areas: 2002-2005

Metropolitan Statistical Area Percentage

• Total United States 22.7
• New York*** 21.3
• Los Angeles*** 18.6
• Chicago*** 25.7
• Philadelphia 24.3
• Dallas 22.2
• Miami 21.7
• Houston*** 25.6
• Washington, DC*** 19.0
• Atlanta 19.7
• Detroit 24.3
• Boston 25.0
• San Francisco 23.1
• Riverside/San Bernardino*** 19.0
• Phoenix 24.6
• Seattle 21.7

Percentages of Persons Aged 12 or Older Reporting Past Month Cigarette Use, by Metropolitan Statistical Areas: 2002-2005

Metropolitan Statistical Area Percentage

• Total United States 25.3
• New York*** 22.5
• Los Angeles*** 17.9
• Chicago 26.2
• Philadelphia 25.7
• Dallas 24.1
• Miami*** 22.0
• Houston 25.1
• Washington, DC*** 19.8
• Atlanta 23.0
• Detroit*** 27.4
• Boston*** 20.8
• San Francisco*** 17.9
• Riverside/San Bernardino*** 19.2
• Phoenix 26.0
• Seattle*** 21.4
  

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