When we think of people abusing recreational drugs or the term ‘addict’, we don’t tend to envision those over the age of 65 smoking a joint or participating in binge drinking. A lot of people would believe it is uncommon. Instead, we tend to muster up images of youths drinking in pubs or gathering in parks. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. While numbers seem to be dropping for 18- to 19-year-olds using drug treatment services, the figure for over 65s is increasing at an alarming rate of up to 1000%.
Substance Abuse in ‘Baby Boomers’
New analysis of available NHS figures show that substance abuse is most prevalent in those born between 1946 and 1954. These so-called ‘baby boomers’ surprisingly have higher rates of addiction than in any other age group. Or maybe it’s not so surprising, considering this particular demographic had the highest rates of substance abuse as young adults and teenagers compared to any other generation. We can imagine that many of these individuals stopped using drugs as they hit their late 20s or early 30s, when they decided to settle down, have kids and a steady job. But with their children out of the house and many reaching retirement, boomer drug abuse is on the rise.
Cannabis
Attitudes towards cannabis are slowly shifting, recognised by the legalisation of the drug in many American states, Canada, and other countries. The UK has also acknowledged the medicinal benefits of the drug; as of November 2018, the law changed in the UK, allowing for the prescription of medicinal cannabis for several medical conditions.
The UK’s population mirrors these changes. Cannabis is the most widely used illicit substance. Whilst the media and research focus on the increase of teenagers smoking cannabis and the impact it has on their development, the number of 18- and 19-year-olds attending drug treatment services for cannabis use has dropped more than 25%. This is a vast difference to the 800% increase, over the last 15 years, of those over the age of 55 in drug treatment care services. For those over 65, there has been more than a 1000% increase.
Many of those seeking support for cannabis-related substance abuse are also living with co-occurring disorders – meaning they are living with another mental illness. Over the last 10 years the amount of 65 to 74-year-olds, who have been admitted to hospitals for drug-related mental health conditions like psychosis, shockingly increased from 181 to 1,345. With the availability of addiction treatment services slowly decreasing, many ‘baby boomers’ are being admitted to old-age psychiatry services, where their co-occurring substance abuse disorder is likely to be overlooked and therefore not dealt with accordingly.
Alcohol
It seems as though alcohol is not as popular as it once was in the mid-2000s. Drinking rates around the world are slowly declining, especially among the younger generations. Researchers have discovered a multitude of changes in drinking habits over the last 15 years. Young people are not consuming as much alcohol as they used to, and drunkenness levels are lowering as the years pass by. We’ve seen a huge cultural shift in attitudes towards alcohol, recognised by the rise of ‘mindful drinking’ and ‘positive sobriety’ movements across the globe. It would be easy to assume that this change is implemented across all of society, however, the decline in drinking among young people is definitely not replicated across older generations.
The number of over 55s seeking drug treatment for alcohol use has risen more than 200% over the past 15 years. Compared to other generations, those over the age of 65 have much higher rates of drinking, more than the recommended guidelines. Deaths that have been related to alcohol misuse were at the highest they have ever been in over 10 years and alcohol-related admissions to the hospital are now 67% higher.
Increased levels of alcohol consumption take a much larger hit on a baby boomer’s health compared to someone who is under the age of 25. They are at a higher risk of developing alcohol-related health problems such as bowel cancer, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, or liver disease. This increased sensitivity to alcohol that those of a particular age experience combined with the natural ageing process poses a risk of accidents and further health complications. However, despite alcohol-related harm increasing in older people, treatments and alcohol prevention programs are still catered towards a younger crowd.
What Next?
But why are so many over 55s turning to substance abuse in their early retirement? What are the reasons for these increases in drug and alcohol use? Baby boomers are a generation who grew up with daily advertisements of alcohol on TV and associated smoking a joint with relaxation rather than practising mindfulness or breathing techniques. When the world shut down due to COVID19, lockdown led to an increase, in this particular age group, to drink at levels that were ‘indicative of probable alcohol dependence’. Are substances used in the same way as any other generation uses them? As a comfort blanket. To ease the strain of life or simply as a means of passing time. Looking to the future, we need to ensure that services reflect this increase.
Our wrong assumptions of substance abuse being a younger generation’s problems poses huge challenges in ensuring services are accessible for our elders. Policies, more often than not, are centred around the needs and wants of a younger demographic. Ultimately this age group is completely left out of the conversation of substance abuse. Do those in retirement who are abusing drugs not fit with the government or media’s narrative of drug-related violence and crime? Would people care less about drug policies or the decriminalisation of drugs if they imagined the older generation using drugs in the privacy of their homes? Whatever the reason, the outcome of this common misconception can be extremely detrimental.
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