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Report On Substance Use Finds Alcohol Use Is The Most Common

California Health Care Foundation
The California Health Care Foundation report found that more nonfatal emergency department visits happened due to alcohol than any other substance abuse combined.

When it comes to addictive substances, opioids like heroin and fentanyl have in recent years been dominating headlines around the country. And rightly so: Nationally, the number of opioid overdose deaths more than quadrupled from 2000 to 2016. But as concerning and dangerous as opioids are, we shouldn’t forget about another addictive substance that’s long been known to disrupt lives: Alcohol.

A new report from the California Health Care Foundation examines substance use disorders in California,exploring the trends and impacts of the use of alcohol, opioids, and other substances over time. Health reporter Kerry Klein breaks down some of the findings, such as the prevalence of alcohol use disorder compared to other drugs, and some of the disorder's fatal and non-fatal consequences. Listen to the interview for more.

Kerry Klein is an award-winning reporter whose coverage of public health, air pollution, drinking water access and wildfires in the San Joaquin Valley has been featured on NPR, KQED, Science Friday and Kaiser Health News. Her work has earned numerous regional Edward R. Murrow and Golden Mike Awards and has been recognized by the Association of Health Care Journalists and Society of Environmental Journalists. Her podcast Escape From Mammoth Pool was named a podcast “listeners couldn’t get enough of in 2021” by the radio aggregator NPR One.
Laura Tsutsui was a reporter and producer for Valley Public Radio. She joined the station in 2017 as a news intern, and later worked as a production assistant and weekend host. Laura covered local issues ranging from politics to housing, and produced the weekly news program Valley Edition. She left the station in November 2020.
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