New Study Shows that the Alcohol Use Rate Among American Indian or Alaska Native Adults is Well Below the National Average

But Native American or Alaska Native adults have a higher rate of binge drinking than the national average

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

A new national study reveals that the rate of past month alcohol use (i.e., at least one drink in the past 30 days) among American Indian or Alaska Native adults is significantly lower than the national average for adults (43.9 percent versus 55.2 percent). The study, sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), also shows that American Indian or Native Alaska adults have a rate of past month binge alcohol drinking (i.e., five or more drinks on the same occasion - on at least one day in the past 30 days) well above the national average (30.6 percent versus 24.5 percent). The level of past month illicit drug use was also found to be higher among American Indian or Alaska Native adults than the overall adult population (11.2 percent versus 7.9 percent).