This month, the Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, released a new report, “Facing Addiction in America.” According to the report, only a fraction of individuals who suffer from alcoholism or addiction to legal and illegal drugs are currently receiving treatment. Current statistics say that one in every seven people in the United States is expected to develop a substance abuse disorder but only one in ten of those individuals will receive treatment.

“It’s time to change how we view addiction,” , the surgeon general, said, “Not as a moral failing but as a chronic illness. The way we address this crisis is a test for America.”

This is the first time a surgeon general has released a report addressing the issue of substance use disorder and the associated health issues that play a larger role. The main point the surgeon general wanted to make clear is for too long we’ve approached substance use disorders with judgment instead of a problem we can treat. Murthy’s report urges policy makers, the healthcare industry and the public at large to address these issues with a forward thinking mindset focused on care and treatment.

The Consequences of Substance Use

78 people die every day in the United States from an opioid overdose which is four times the rate of overdose-related deaths in 1999. Greater than 40% of people with a substance use disorder also suffer from a mental health condition and less than half of those individuals receive treatment for either issue.

According to the report, although many risk factors for developing a disorder are genetic, other environmental factors play a role such as the age of an individual when trying drugs or alcohol for the first time. Individuals who drink alcohol before age 15 are four times more likely to develop an addiction later in life than an individual who tries alcohol at age 20 or older.

Almost 70% of individuals that use drugs before the age of 13 will develop a substance abuse disorder later in life, while the likelihood drops to 27% for individuals who use drugs for the first time after reaching age 17.

Attempts to Solve the Problem

President Obama has urged to the public to reconsider how we treat addictions and substance use disorder. Earlier this year, the President invited singer/songwriter Macklemore to the White House to discuss the issue as Macklemore has seen it in his own life. MTV created a documentary on the topic from the talk between Macklemore and the president.

However, despite the best intentions, the report and the administration’s progress has been criticized by at least one U.S. Senator from Massachusetts. “The deaths caused by prescription drug, heroin and fentanyl overdoses are growing exponentially every year, yet this report fails to provide any detailed road map for how best to curb opioid addiction,” Senator Edward J. Markey, democrat of Massachusetts, said, according to The New York Times.

Earlier this year, President Obama’s administration sought$1 billion to fight substance abuse and fund treatment. In the end, Congress passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 authorizing $181 million in new spending, less than 20% of what the president requested.

Report Recommendations

Murthy’s report does recommend evidence-based early interventions for young people, expanding treatment programs that have been proven to work, and making more investments in research for substance use prevention and treatment. The report also outlined some additional recommendations such as creating recovery spaces in high schools and colleges, addiction screening in healthcare facilities and hospitals, and establishing community forums to emphasize the medical nature of addiction.

“I’m calling for a cultural change in how we think about addiction,” Murthy told The Huffington Post. “For far too long people have thought about addiction as a character flaw or a moral failing.” Murthy believes addiction to be a chronic disease that can be treated if we begin to approach it the same way we approach other chronic illness: “with skill, with compassion and with urgency.”

To learn more about substance use disorders and other complex pain issues, visit the Paradigm Outcomes website or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.