First Time Users of Cocaine (1965 - 2003)

Trends in Initiation of Cocaine Use (1965 - 2003)

Source: National Survey on Drug Use and Health

Table 4.2A Numbers (in Thousands) of Persons Who Initiated Cocaine Use in the United States, Their Mean Age at First Use, and Rates of First Use (Per 1,000 Person-Years of Exposure): 1965-2003, Based on 2002-2004 NSDUHs
YEAR NUMBER OF INITIATES (1,000s) MEAN AGE AGE-SPECIFIC RATES1
All Ages Under 18 18 or Older 12-17 18-25
1965 80 * 61 20.7 * 2.2
1966 41 * 36 22.5 * *
1967 87 * 80 23.6 * 2.9
1968 162 49 113 20.2 2.2 4.2
1969 187 46 141 21.0 1.8 4.5
1970 266 76 189 19.3 3.3 7.1
1971 413 93 320 20.6 3.9 10.5
1972 520 136 384 19.3 5.6 13.4
1973 586 162 424 20.3 6.8 13.6
1974 792 191 601 21.4 7.9 16.8
1975 827 169 658 21.1 7.0 18.9
1976 937 194 743 21.1 8.2 23.2
1977 1,165 247 917 21.5 10.6 24.9
1978 1,255 226 1,029 21.4 9.9 29.9
1979 1,315 240 1,075 20.8 10.8 33.6
1980 1,457 293 1,163 22.0 13.4 31.5
1981 1,546 308 1,238 21.3 14.3 36.6
1982 1,518 271 1,248 22.6 12.9 33.5
1983 1,557 254 1,303 22.2 12.3 37.5
1984 1,419 272 1,147 22.0 13.5 33.2
1985 1,441 281 1,159 22.3 14.2 32.9
1986 1,315 256 1,059 22.8 13.2 30.4
1987 1,162 239 923 22.3 12.4 27.7
1988 1,084 175 909 22.7 9.2 26.9
1989 968 154 814 23.0 8.0 23.6
1990 843 162 682 23.2 8.6 19.0
1991 687 121 566 22.9 6.2 15.8
1992 747 160 587 24.5 8.1 14.3
1993 634 143 491 23.1 7.1 13.4
1994 655 160 494 22.5 7.5 14.1
1995 744 214 530 21.3 10.1 16.7
1996 825 244 581 21.6 11.2 17.9
1997 861 243 618 20.8 10.9 20.7
1998 868 264 605 20.9 11.5 19.5
1999 917 270 648 21.1 11.5 20.2
2000 1,002 289 714 20.8 12.0 23.0
2001 1,140 335 805 20.9 13.7 24.9
20022 1,073 333 740 20.3 13.5 22.8
20033 1,094 384 710 19.8 15.3 23.0
*Low precision; no estimate reported.
-- Not available.
NOTE: Comparisons between years, particularly between recent estimates and those from 10 or more years prior, should be made with caution due to potential bias from reporting and other sources.
1 The numerator of each rate is the number of persons in the age group who initiated use of the drug in the specified year, while the denominator is the person-time exposure of persons in the age group measured in thousands of years.
2 Estimated using 2003 and 2004 data only.
3 Estimated using 2004 data only.
Source: SAMHSA, Office of Applied Studies, National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2002, 2003, and 2004.

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