Overview of Alcohol and Drug Related Issues in Pinellas County Adults

According to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey System, in 2010 in Pinellas County, 60% of adults reported having a drink within the past 30-days, compared to 55.3% statewide. In 2010, 4.9% of Pinellas County adults reported they were Heavy Drinkers (adult men who have more than two drinks daily and adult females who have more than one drink daily). In 2010, 16.9% of Pinellas County adults reported they were Binge Drinkers, meaning they had five or more drinks in on one occasion. In 2010, 20.3% of Pinellas County adults reported smoking, compared to 17.1% statewide. In 2009, there were 79,596,750 packs of Cigarettes sold in Pinellas County (Department of Business and Professional Regulation).

In 2010, there were 2,598 DUI arrests in Pinellas County.

In Pinellas County in 2010, among the 30-59 year old population, alcohol was detected by the Medical Examiner in 131 adults. Cocaine was detected in 33 adults. Alprazolam was detected in 66 adults. Oxycodone was detected in 124 adults.  Methadone was detected in 49 adults (2010, District 6 Medical Examiner).

The Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA) reported that in 2008 there were 180 alcohol-related admissions for adults ages 30-39, 381 Alcohol-related admissions for adults ages 40-49 and 269 alcohol-related admissions for adults ages 50-59 to Pinellas County Emergency Rooms. In Pinellas County in 2008, roughly 2.3 adults were admitted per day to Pinellas County Emergency Rooms.

In 2008 in Pinellas County, 1,186 adults were admitted to Detox services, 714 adults were admitted to residential services and 580 adults were admitted to outpatient services at Pinellas County Substance Abuse Treatment Providers. During the 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 fiscal years in Circuits 6 (Pinellas and Pasco Counties), 12 (DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties) and 13 (Hillsborough County), 647 adults ages 25-49 were waitlisted for substance abuse treatment services (Central Florida Behavioral Health Network).

In the 2010/2011 fiscal year, 68,010 Pinellas County adults reported having substance abuse or dependency, yet only 7,666 adults received treatment.  This represents a gap in treatment for 60,344 Pinellas County Adults (Central Florida Behavioral Health Network).

According to the National Center for Chronic Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion, “Nationwide, new estimates show that binge drinking is a bigger problem than previously thought. More than 38 million US adults binge drink, about 4 times a month, and the largest number of drinks per binge is on average 8. This behavior greatly increases the chances of getting hurt or hurting others due to car crashes, violence, and suicide. Drinking too much, including binge drinking, causes 80,000 deaths in the US each year and in 2006 cost the economy $223.5 billion. Binge drinking is a problem in all states, even in states with fewer binge drinkers, because they are bingeing more often and in larger amounts.”