Theories posit that people suffering from addiction self-medicate a physical, emotional or spiritual hurt.

Abuse of prescription opioids like OxyContin and Vicodin has climbed 342% from 1993 to 2005.

In 2004, NIH set the annual costs of underage drinking at $19 billion from traffic accidents and $29 billion from violent crime.

Almost 50 percent of Americans struggling with addiction do not receive treatment due to insurance barriers.

Approximately 80% of all crime in the US is related to drug or alcohol addiction.

Studies show that every dollar spent on treatment leads to a $7.46 reduction in legal, social and other costs to taxpayers.

Substance abuse is a chronic disease affecting nearly 1 in 10 Americans over the age of 12.

Twenty-two percent of full-time college students meet criteria for alcohol and drug abuse.

Cocaine overdose caused approximately 25,000 emergency room admissions in 1997.

The average individual suffering from an addiction needs $200 per day to support the disease.

About three million cases of child abuse are reported each year in the US. Three out of four involve drug or alcohol abusing parents.

From 1992 to 2003, the abuse of controlled prescription drugs by 12 to 17 year olds more than tripled, rising to $2.3 million.

Ninety percent of property crimes and muggings are related to drugs.

Nearly 1 out of 5 people detained in American prisons committed their offences to obtain money for drugs.

Twenty-two percent of full-time college students meet criteria for alcohol and drug abuse.

About 335,000 people die every year as a direct result of their use of tobacco products.

Among the homeless adults in shelters, almost 90% are alcoholics and alcohol abusers: more than 60% are drug addicts or abusers.

If you do not suffer from an addiction by the age of 25, you are less likely to become addicted.

An estimated $31 billion of Medicare inpatient hospital costs—some 25% of all Medicare inpatient hospital spending—are attributable to substance abuse.

Teens who attend religious services regularly are less likely to use drugs, alcohol and tobacco than those who do not attend.

Expert estimates of the number of crimes committed by one single drug addict range from 89 to 191 a year.

Less than 20 percent of Americans who need treatment receive it.

Currently, an estimated 25 million Americans are addicted to drugs and alcohol.

For each unemployed substance abusing woman on welfare who becomes self-supporting and maintains sobriety, the annual benefit to society is about $50,000.

About 135,000 people die each year as a consequence of alcohol and drug abuse, not including tobacco.

People who have been drinking are at greater risk of being the victim of a violent crime.

More than 1,700 high school and college students die of alcohol poisoning or alcohol-related injuries each year.

Twenty-five percent of all people admitted to hospitals are admitted for problems related to alcohol.

More than half of all adults have a family history of alcohol abuse.