Pubdate: Thu, 06 Dec 2001 Source: Reuters (Wire) Copyright: 2001 Reuters Limited Author: Jean Scheidnes DRUG, ALCOHOL ABUSE ON RISE IN U.S. AFTER SEPT. 11 NEW YORK (Reuters) - The emotional strain caused by the September 11 attacks on the US and threats of bioterrorism have led more Americans to seek treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, according to study findings released on Wednesday. The study by the National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found that 13 states and four major US cities detected a higher demand for treatment, including places directly affected by the attacks--New York, Washington DC, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Florida, the site of the first reports of anthrax, also reported an increase. The center cited a report by the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services that demand for alcohol and drug treatment in New York City increased substantially immediately after the World Trade Center attacks that killed about 4,000 people. "We know that one of the major reasons for people who relapse, whether to drinking or drugs or smoking, is stress and trauma.... The events of September 11, and the anthrax and the constant conversation about bioterrorism creates stress for millions of Americans," Joseph Califano, chairman of the center and former Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, said in a telephone interview. Admissions for treatment increased 10% to 12% nationally, the center said. The increased demand for treatment surely corresponded to higher consumption of drugs and alcohol, Califano said. Exposure to trauma puts a person at four to five times greater risk of substance abuse, and stress is considered the leading cause of relapse to alcohol and drug abuse, and addiction and smoking, the report states. "This is only the first wave. We are almost certain to have an even greater increase in alcohol and drug abuse and in the demand for treatment, if Oklahoma City is any indication, and this is a more severe and nationally engaged trauma than Oklahoma City," Califano said. For 2 years after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, Oklahoma experienced a dramatic increase in the need for treatment services, the center said. Timothy McVeigh was executed for setting off a powerful truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah federal office building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. A year after the bombing, three times as many residents of Oklahoma City reported increased drinking compared with residents of Indianapolis. In addition, rescue workers in Oklahoma City experienced elevated rates of substance abuse, depression and suicide, the center said. Califano recommends a public education campaign alerting physicians, mental health providers and clergy--people who work with individuals under high stress--to the symptoms of substance abuse and addiction, and favors government funding for treatment services. The study did not include cigarette smoking, but there are other indications that smoking also has been on the rise. Thirty percent of people who were smokers prior to September 11 increased the number of cigarettes they consumed, and more than 5% of people who said they had previously quit smoking relapsed, according to a separate report by the American Cancer Society and drug maker GlaxoSmithKline Plc last month. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh