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Fast Stats
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In 1996, 29.9 percent of U.S. women (females over age 12) had used an illicit drug at least
once in their lives.1
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In 1996, 56,000 women used a needle to inject drugs, and 856,000 had done so at some point
in their lives.1
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Up to 70 percent of drug abusing women report histories of physical and sexual abuse. Women
are far more likely than men to report a parental history of alcohol and drug abuse.1
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Women may become more quickly addicted than men to certain drugs, such as crack cocaine, even
after casual or experimental use.1
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Out of 4 million women who gave birth during 1992-1993, 757,000 women drank alcohol products
and 820,000 women smoked cigarettes during their pregnancies.2
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From 1992-1993, 221,000 women used illegal drugs during their pregnancies, with marijuana and
cocaine being the most prevalent: 119,000 women reported use of marijuana and 45,000 reported use of cocaine.2
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Women often spend less time than men in treatment. Women entering treatment are more likely
than men to be custodial parents and to have fewer economic resources; they are less likely than men to have graduated from
high school, to be employed, or to have sufficient supportive social networks.3
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Among 12-year-olds who have been offered drugs, boys are most likely to have received those
offers from other males or their parents. Girls are most likely to have been offered drugs by a female friend or family member.
Although the most common strategy for rejecting these offers is a simple refusal, boys are more likely than girls to explain
their refusal.4
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Boys are more likely to receive offers in a public setting, such as on the street or in a park,
and the offers to males typically emphasize the "benefits"-improved status or self-image-of drug use. Girls are more likely
to receive a straightforward "do you want some?" offer or one that minimizes the risks of drug use. For girls, these offers
are usually made in a private setting such as a friend's home.4
Research Excerpts
"Although most research on drug abuse has used men as research
subjects, drug abuse may present different challenges to women's health, may progress differently in women than in men, and
may require different treatment approaches. More attention is needed on the relationship between AIDS and drug abuse and how
a patient's sex may affect this relationship. Drug abuse increases the risk of AIDS for women, especially women who inject
drugs, share drug paraphernalia, or have sexual relationships with injection drug users. In the past few years, there has
been a significant rise in the number of AIDS cases occurring in women who are injection drug users."5
"Approximately 200,000 women are expected to die of illnesses related to drug abuse in 1994, more than four
times the number of women who will die of breast cancer. Women and men have different physiological responses to medications
and drugs and may develop different manifestations of disease as a product of drug abuse. Women have more side effects and
more fatal drug reactions to psychotropic medications abuse, than men. Society's denial about women and drug abuse is finally
ending."
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