- Colorado was most affected by addiction, particularly with vaping and drugs
- In worldwide rankings, the US was named the top country with drug addictions
- READ MORE: States where doctors are most likely to give the WRONG diagnosis
A new report has laid bare which states have the highest levels of drug and alcohol addiction.
Colorado scored the highest in terms of addiction as a whole, with a fifth of its people ‘excessive’ drinkers and 21 percent using illicit drugs.
The Mile High state – which has some of the country’s most lax drug regulations – was given an addiction score of 6.95, according to the analysis of federal data.
Montana and Alaska took second and third place for overall addiction, followed closely behind by Louisiana and Ohio.
Colorado was the top state for addictions, a report from Universal Drugstore found
Colorado was the top state for vaping addiction, with one in 13 residents dependent on it
The report used federal data, including surveys from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) and the National Library of Medicine, to calculate the percentage of residents in each state who were affected by common addictions.
The researchers also looked at the countries with the highest rates of addiction. Latvia took first place, particularly for alcoholism. Latvians consumed 12.2 liters (412 ounces) per capita. This is roughly the equivalent of 2.6 bottles of wine or 4.9 liters of beer weekly.
The report, conducted by online pharmacy Universal Drugstore, gave each state and country a score out of 10. This was an average of the percentages of people addicted to vaping, smoking, drinking, or using illicit drugs.
The researchers found that Colorado took first place for addictions, scoring 6.95/10.
Montana took second place, with an addiction score of 6.9/10. Alaska took third, scoring 6.8/10.
In terms of vaping, Utah scored directly behind Colorado, with 7.2 percent affected by e-cigarette addiction. Oklahoma took third place with 7.1 percent.
Wisconsin was the top state for people affected by alcoholism, with 26 percent of its adults excessively drinking on a regular basis
The US was the country most affected by drug addiction, followed closely by Canada and the UK
The data is in line with a survey published last month in JAMA Network, which found that Oklahoma had the highest rate of vaping in the US.
According to the researchers, 9.5 percent of Oklahoma adults were vape users, and 4.6 percent used them every day.
Though Colorado topped the list for vaping, it didn’t crack the top 25 states for smoking. The state ranked 38th for smoking.
West Virginia ranked number one for smoking, with nearly one-quarter of adults affected by the habit.
At 24 percent, the state had more than twice the national average smoking addiction rate, which is 11.5 percent. The state also ranked 12th for overall addiction.
West Virginia has long been at the epicenter of the opioid epidemic raging across the US, with its drug overdose death rate per 100,000 people the highest in the nation.
Vermont had the highest amount of adults affected by illicit drug addiction.
According to the study, 24.9 percent of adult residents fell into this category.
‘Vermont has one of the highest substance abuse rates in the US, including higher cannabis and heroin use for people aged between 18 and 25,’ the report stated.
Alaska, which was also in third place for overall addiction, took third place for illicit drug use.
Wisconsin was the top state for people affected by alcoholism, with 26 percent of its adults excessively drinking on a regular basis.
The researchers also noted that in 2021, 41 out of 50 of the most heavily drinking counties in the US were in Wisconsin.
The team also looked at addiction rates throughout the world and found that Latvia was the globe’s most adducted country.
The European nation scored 8.71/10, followed closely by Estonia (7.8/10) and Austria (7.65/10).
Alcoholism was largely responsible for this. Latvians consumed 12.2 liters (412 ounces) per capita. This is roughly the equivalent of 2.6 bottles of wine or 4.9 liters of beer weekly.
The team also found that men consume 20.9 liters per capita, while women drink 6.1 liters.
The country also ranked in the top 10 for smoking.
The US was found to be the 12th most addicted country, tied with Hungary. The UK took 11th place.
The US was also found to be the country most affected by drug addiction, which could be due to surges in substances like fentanyl and xylazine.
‘As of 2020, around 37 million Americans aged 12 or older were illegal drug users, highlighting the ongoing issues with drug addiction in the US,’ the researchers wrote.
Indonesia topped the list of top smoking countries, with 32.6 percent of the population addicted to it.
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