Preventing Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Abuse in Illinois-Needs Assessment Information for Prevention Providers and Community Coalitions

Substance abuse is one of the most costly and complex social and public health issues in the nation. A national study released in 2009 reported that the cost of substance abuse to the State of Illinois in state tax dollars alone was more than $4.6 billion dollars—14.4 percent of the entire state budget.1 Of that amount, 96 cents out of every dollar went to pay for the burden of substance abuse on public and social programs such as health (31 percent), justice (25 percent), child/family assistance (20 percent), education (14 percent), and mental health/developmental disabilities (8 percent). These cost figures do not include federal or local governmental spending, private sector expenses, or financial estimates of the devastation that substance abuse causes to Illinois’ families, local economies, and environment. Substance abuse impacts all citizens of the State and is every-one’s problem.