National Survey on Drug Use and Health
The  National Survey on Drug Use and Health is conducted yearly and includes  comments and interviews from over 60,000 individuals. Those chosen to  participate in the survey are required to be at least 12 years of age.  The purpose of the survey is to provide state and national level data on  the current use of illicit drugs, tobacco and alcohol.
Most  survey participants take the survey in their own home. The survey is  conducted by a personal interviewer and the participant inputs their  responses on a laptop or computer. The National Survey on Drug Use and  Health organization makes a strong effort to ensure that all groups of  people are represented in this survey. This includes doing intense  research to select specific communities and households. Doing this is  the only effective way to gather data that represents all regions of the  country. 
The  data that is gathered from this survey helps to identify specific  trends which includes how many people are currently using tobacco based  products. This information is often used by tobacco companies and  non-profit health organizations. Tobacco companies use the data to help  them create more effective marketing campaigns. While non-profit  organizations use the data to help them determine where the highest  concentration of tobacco users live. 
The  survey also helps to track the use of alcohol and illegal drugs and  identify trends of users. Treatment facilities from across the country  use this information to help them better understand how to treat drug  and alcohol addiction. They also use the information to help them know  where to allocate their funding dollars. 
Once  all the information from the survey is analyzed, it will reveal which  groups of people are more at risk of becoming smokers and addicted to  drugs and alcohol. This type of information is very beneficial in  helping communities and local organizations be more proactive in  preventing drug and alcohol abuse, especially among teens.  
In  addition to tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs, there is also a large  percentage of people in this country today who have become addicted to  prescription medications. This type of addiction can be hard to treat  because it is not easy to identify. There are thousands of people who  are taking extra doses of prescription medicine today and their family  and friends don't know it. By the time they do find out in most cases,  the drugs have already caused a significant amount of mental and  physical damage. 
To learn more about the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, go to https://nsduhweb.rti.org.
               
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