What do the statistics say about the prevalence of substance use and addiction in Pinellas County, Florida?
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Alcohol Use and Addiction in Pinellas County
Alcohol is one of the most commonly abused substances in Florida, throughout the rest of the United States, and across the globe.
Generally speaking, research on alcohol use in Pinellas County focuses on two categories:
- Behaviors, such as binge drinking, excessive drinking, and drunk driving
- Effects, such as such as arrests for DUI, alcohol-involved automobile accidents, rates of alcoholism, and alcohol-related deaths
Binge Drinking
Binge drinking is defined as having at least four drinks (for women) or at least five drinks (for men) within a period of about two hours.
Information collected by the All4HealthFL Collaborative in 2023 indicates that about 15.3% of adults in Pinellas County had engaged in binge drinking at least once in the previous 30 days.
In 2022, the collaborative reported that about 6.2% of high school students in the county had histories of past-month binge drinking:
- This was less than half the rate from 2014, when 13.4% of high school students reported past-month binge drinking.
- It also marked a 75% decrease from 2008, when nearly one of every four high school students said that they’d had at least one binge drinking episode in the previous 30 days.
Excessive Drinking
From 2017-2019, almost a quarter (24.2%) of all adults in Pinellas County had engaged in excessive drinking in the previous 30 days. Excessive drinking was defined as either:
- One binge drinking episode
- Averaging one drink per day (for women) or two drinks per day (for men) throughout the month.
During that same period, the rate of excessive drinking among all adults in Florida was 18.0%.
Drunk driving
From 2019-2023, alcohol was a factor in 19.5% of driving-related deaths in Pinellas county:
- This was the lowest rate recorded in the county in the previous 13 years.
- The highest rate was in 2010-2014, when 31.7% (or nearly one-third) of driving deaths in the county involved alcohol.
- The 2019-2023 average was better than the rate of alcohol-involved deaths throughout the state (20.4%) and the nation (26.1%).
In 2020, Pinellas County averaged 206 DUI arrests per 100,000 residents:
- This was the fourth year that the county had a decline in drunk driving arrests.
- The 2020 rate was an 18.3% reduction from 2017, when the county averaged 252.1 DUI arrests per 100,000 residents.
- The 2020 rate was still significantly worse than the overall rate in Florida, which was 134.8 per 100,000 residents.
Alcohol Addiction
According to a 2023 state-specific report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), about 10.3% of residents ages 12 and above in Pinellas and Pasco counties struggled with alcohol addiction in the previous year.
The SAMHSA report, which is based on data collected during the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NS-DUH), divided Florida into 19 regions, which it referred to as circuits. Pinellas County was combined with Pasco County to form Circuit 6.
The rate of alcohol addiction in Circuit 6 was almost identical to the national average (10.4%), but slightly higher than the rate across the entire state of Florida (9.3%)
Drug Use & Addiction in Pinellas County
SAMHSA’s 2023 report also addressed the prevalence of other types of drug use and addiction in Pinellas County.
As with their alcohol addiction data, SAMHSA’s drug data combined Pinellas and Pasco counties into Circuit 6. Also, all of the data below encompasses individuals ages 12 and above.
Past Month Drug Use
The SAMHSA report charted three categories of past month drug use. Pinellas and Pasco counties exceeded the state and national rates in two of these categories.
Past month marijuana use:
- Circuit 6: 18.3%
- Florida: 13.1%
- U.S.: 14.5%
Past month opioid misuse (which includes heroin and prescription pain relievers, but not fentanyl):
- Circuit 6: 2.9%
- Florida: 2.9%
- U.S.: 3.2%
Past month use of illicit drugs (which includes marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, methamphetamine, and both opioid and non-opioid prescription pain relievers):
- Circuit 6: 18.8%
- Florida: 14.0%
- U.S.: 15.9%
Addiction Rates
Though most types of substance use in Pinellas and Pasco counties topped state and national averages, this increased use does not seem to have led to significantly higher rates of addiction when compared to the U.S. as a whole. However, addiction is more common in these counties than across the state.
Here’s what the SAMHSA report said about the prevalence of any type of substance use disorder (addiction) in the past year:
- Circuit 6: 17.7%
- Florida: 15.2%
- U.S.: 17.0%
The SAMHSA report also information about the combined rate of addiction to marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, methamphetamine, or prescription psychotherapeutic drugs. Pinellas and Pasco counties were above the state average but below the national rate:
- Circuit 6: 9.2%
- Florida: 8.0%
- U.S.: 9.3%
Drug-related deaths
From 2021-2023, Pinellas County recorded 1,531 deaths due to drug poisoning (overdose). This equates to a rate of 53.2 deaths per 100,000 residents.
A few additional facts about this statistic:
- It marked a slight decrease from 2020-2022, when the county averaged 54.6 drug poisoning deaths per 100,000 residents.
- The Pinellas County rate was significantly higher than both the statewide (33.6 per 100,000) and national (32.0 per 100,000) rates for drug poisoning deaths.
- The county also had a higher rate than at least 75% of all other counties in the U.S.
Another way to put the prevalence of drug poisoning deaths in Pinellas County into context involves an initiative called Healthy People 2030 (HP2030).
Launched in 2020 and overseen by the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) this effort established measurable health-related goals to be achieved by the start of the next decade.
For drug poisoning deaths, the national target is a maximum of 20.7 per 100,000 people. To achieve this goal, Pinellas County would to reduce its annual rate of drug poisoning deaths by 64.7%.
Find Addiction Treatment in Pinellas County, FL
Tampa Bay Recovery Center is a premier source of personalized addiction treatment in Pinellas County, FL.
Our outpatient rehab serves adults who have become dependent on alcohol, prescription painkillers, and other addictive substances. We also offer dual diagnosis services for clients whose struggles with compulsive substance abuse are accompanied by anxiety, depression, and other co-occurring mental health concerns.
Treatment options include a partial hospitalization program (PHP), intensive outpatient program (IOP), and virtual (online) care. All programs are staffed by compassionate professionals who are committed to providing life-affirming care within a safe and highly supportive environment.
To learn more about how we can help you or a loved one, or to schedule a free assessment, please visit our Contact page or call us today.
