A recent addiction research article combined findings from 31 different studies to assess the impact of large terrorism events on rates of alcohol, cigarettes, and drug use. The researchers noted that most of the studies occurred after the World Trade bombing of September 11th, 2001.

• After controlling for the level of exposure, type of event, and length since exposure, the evidence suggests that somewhere between 7%-14% of the population affected by the terrorism will show an increase in their rates of alcohol use.
• For cigarettes smoking, the average is somewhere between 7%-10%.
• Drug use, including narcotics and prescription medication, increased an average of 16% to as high as 50% or more. There’s no doubt that a large portion of that increase is due to increased prescription drug use, most likely anti-anxiety medication, antidepressants, etc.

Overall, the findings certainly show that a large-scale terrorism event affects the daily life of citizens, especially in terms of their coping using drugs and alcohol. Hindsight is 20/20, but hopefully next time, we’ll be ready to help people deal with such catastrophes while helping them steer away from possible dependence on drugs down the line.

Citation:

DiMaggio, Charles; Galea, Sandro; Li, Guohua (2009) Substance use and misuse in the aftermath of terrorism. A Bayesian meta-analysis. Addiction, Volume 104, 894-904.