Indicator 5: Drug Related Deaths
Illegal drugs and alcohol are estimated to be responsible for 11.3 percent of preventable deaths nationwide. Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes cost the nation $46 billion annually in lost productivity (63.4 percent), medical costs (12 percent), property damage (18 percent), and other direct expenditures (6.6 percent). Over $5 billion of these costs are for health care (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA]).
In 1998, TDPS reports 598 driver related (driver only) DWI and 1,058 DWI related fatalities occurred in Texas (TCADA, 2000). In Travis County there were 10 driver related DWI fatalities and 24 DWI related fatalities. In 1998, substance abuse was related to 367 deaths in Travis County. Seventy-four percent (270) were alcohol related and 26 percent (97) were drug related. Of the alcohol related deaths 96 percent were adult deaths and the remaining 4 percent were youth deaths (TCADA, 2000).
Findings (TCADA and Texas Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics)
- Youth alcohol related death data is insufficient to interpret.
- Adult direct alcohol related deaths increased slightly.
- Adult direct and indirect drug related deaths have decreased slightly.
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