Alcohol Use and Alcohol Related Risk Behaviors Among Veterans 

The NSDUH Report: Alcohol Use and Alcohol Related Risk Behaviors among Veterans

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Highlights:

• Data from SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) were used to compare substance use, dependence and treatment among veterans and non veterans. Veterans were defined as persons who had formerly served in any of the U.S. Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, etc.). The nonveteran comparison group reflected the age, gender, and geographic distribution of veterans as indicated in the Veterans Health Administrations's benefit eligibility data. In 2003, of the estimated 25 million veterans (93% were male) living in the United States, 8.4% were between the ages of 17 and 34; 30.1% between the ages of 35 and 54; 42.3% between the ages of 55 and 74; and 19.2% were aged 75 or older.

• SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that in 2003, an estimated 56.6% of veterans used alcohol in the past month compared with 50.8% of comparable nonveterans.

• An estimated 13.2% of veterans reported driving while under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs in the past year compared with 12.2% of comparable nonveterans.

• An estimated 18.8% of veterans reported that they smoked cigarettes daily in the past month compared with 14.3% of comparable nonveterans.

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Reports on alcohol

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Reports on dependence

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This Short Report, The NSDUH Report: Alcohol Use and Alcohol Related Risk Behaviors among Veterans, is based on SAMHSA's  National Survey on Drug Use and Health, formerly called the National Household Survey on Drug Use (NHSDA)  conducted by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS) in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NHSDA/NSDUH) is the primary source of information on the prevalence, patterns, and consequences of drug and alcohol use and abuse in the general U.S. civilian non institutionalized population, age 12 and older.   Estimates are also available for drug use by state.