Tables 6.8 to 6.10 show that in 1997,
4.9% of persons aged 12 or older (about 10.7 million persons [see Table
2.1 and OAS, 1998b, Table 12A]) had used prescription-type analgesics for
nonmedical reasons in their lifetime, 1.9% had used analgesics in the past
year (4.2 million persons), and 0.7% had done so in the past month (1.6
million persons). Past year and past month rates were significantly higher
among those aged 12 to 25 than among the two older age groups. Although
males were more likely than females to report past year use of analgesics,
there were no significant differences by gender for past month use. Additionally,
there were no significant differences for past year or past month use by
race/ethnicity. Rates of past year and past month analgesic use were lower
among those in the Northeast than among those in all other regions.
