Substance use, addiction, and mental health affect many aspects of daily life in America and touch every community across our nation. During the past two decades, over 1.5 million lives have been lost to drug overdose and suicide, and many millions more have struggled with mental illness and addiction and their related health, social, and economic impacts.
Substance use and mental illness are also a key driver of the chronic disease crisis impacting our nation. Research shows that substance use and health risk behaviors that emerge during childhood are strongly linked to risk for physical health conditions, addiction, and mental illness later in life. Thus, prioritizing the work of behavioral health is a lynchpin to achieving President Trump’s directive to Make America Healthy Again and celebrate the Great American Recovery.
Fortunately, there are a range of evidence-based prevention, treatment, and recovery strategies that can be implemented in states and communities to prevent substance use in the first place, effectively treat addiction and mental illness, and support people in achieving long-term recovery and healing. But a critical ingredient to successfully deploying evidence-based strategies is having timely data to understand the problem, who is impacted, how the problem is changing, and where gaps in care and services exist.
For more than four decades, SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) has been the federal government’s trusted source of information on substance use and mental health patterns and trends in the U.S.
Today, SAMHSA is releasing the 2025 NSDUH results which provide the latest information on trends and patterns of substance use and mental health among Americans. The 2025 NSDUH marks the first year since 2020 in which five consecutive years of data are available to assess trends across most key substance use and mental health indicators, and assess our progress between 2021 and 2025 and identify opportunities for action moving forward.
In addition, today’s release represents the earliest release of the annual NSDUH report, delivering on SAMHSA’s commitment to timely, data-driven policy making and leading with gold-standard science. Additional information, data, and resources can be found on the NSDUH webpage.
Substance Use Among Americans 12 Years or Older
Alcohol, nicotine and marijuana remain the most commonly used substances among Americans. In 2025, 129.1 million people aged 12 years or older reported alcohol use in the past month, followed by 46.9 million using tobacco products, 43.8 million using marijuana, and 29.3 million vaping nicotine. Among the 129.1 million people reporting past month alcohol use, 56.8 million (44.0%) reported binge drinking in the past month.
Past month use of other illicit substances such as hallucinogens, cocaine, and methamphetamine as well as misuse of prescription medications such as prescription pain relievers and stimulants were far less common compared to alcohol, nicotine, and marijuana (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Number of Americans 12 Years or Older Reporting Past Month Use of Specific Substances, 2025
When examining use of illicit drugs in the past year, approximately 1 in 4 Americans 12 years or older (69.8 million; 24.0%) reported illicit drug use in 2025 (Figure 2). This included 61.6 million people using marijuana, 9.1 million using hallucinogens, 6.9 million misusing prescription opioids, 4.9 million misusing prescription tranquilizers or sedatives, and 4.2 million using cocaine.
Figure 2. Number of Americans 12 Years or Older Reporting Use of Specific Illicit Drugs in the Past Year, 2025
In addition to past month and past year use, NSDUH captures the number of people in the U.S. who reported using specific drugs, alcohol, or nicotine for the first time in the past year (Figure 3). Alcohol (4.3 million new initiates), nicotine vaping (4.2 million new initiates), and marijuana (2.4 million new initiates) were the most common substances used for the first time in the past year. These annual numbers translate to approximately 11,800 new users of alcohol, 11,500 new users of nicotine vaping, and 6,600 new users of marijuana each day in the U.S. in 2025.
Figure 3. Past Year Initiates of Specific Substances Among People 12 Years or Older, 2025
Substance Use Disorders Among Americans 12 Years or Older
In 2025, nearly 45 million Americans, 15.3% of people 12 years or older, met diagnostic criteria for a substance use disorder in the past year (Figure 4). Of these individuals, 26.0 million had a drug use disorder and 25.7 million had an alcohol use disorder. About 1 in 6 people with a past year substance use disorder (16.0% or 7.1 million people) had both an alcohol use disorder and a drug use disorder in the past year. Marijuana use disorder was the most common drug use disorder (19.3 million), followed by central nervous system (CNS) stimulant use disorder (4.5 million) and opioid use disorder (4.0 million).
Figure 4. Past Year Substance Use Disorders Among People 12 Years or Older, 2025
Key Substance Use Prevalence Trends From 2021 to 2025
Based on linear trend testing, most key substance use indicators either decreased or remained stable between 2021 and 2025 among people aged 12 or older and among specific age groups: 12 to 17, 18 to 25 and 26 or Older (Table 1).
Table 1. Key Substance Use Prevalence Trends from 2021 to 2025
| Substance Use Indicator | 12-17 | 18-25 | 26 or Older | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past Month Nicotine Product Use* | Stable | Decrease | Stable | Stable |
| Past Month Tobacco Use | Decrease | Decrease | Decrease | Decrease |
| Past Month Cigarette Use | Stable | Decrease | Decrease | Decrease |
| Past Month Vaping* | Stable | Decrease | Increase | Increase |
| Past Month Alcohol Use | Decrease | Decrease | Decrease | Decrease |
| Past Month Binge Drinking | Decrease | Decrease | Decrease | Decrease |
| Past Month Marijuana Use | Decrease | Decrease | Increase | Increase |
| Past Year Illicit Drug Use | Decrease | Decrease | Increase | Increase |
| Past Year Marijuana Use | Decrease | Decrease | Increase | Increase |
| Past Year Cocaine Use | Stable | Decrease | Stable | Stable |
| Past Year Methamphetamine Use | Stable | Stable | Stable | Stable |
| Past Year Hallucinogen Use | Stable | Decrease | Increase | Increase |
| Past Year Rx Stimulant Misuse | Stable | Decrease | Stable | Stable |
| Past Year Rx Tranquilizer or Sedative Misuse | Stable | Decrease | Stable | Decrease |
| Past Year Rx Opioid Misuse | Stable | Decrease | Decrease | Decrease |
| Past Year Initiation of Alcohol Use | Decrease | Stable | Stable | Stable |
| Past Year Initiation of Nicotine Vaping* | Decrease | Decrease | Decrease | Decrease |
| Past Year Initiation of Marijuana Use | Decrease | Stable | Stable | Decrease |
| Past Year Initiation of Cigarette Use | Stable | Increase | Stable | Increase |
| Past Year Substance Use Disorder | Decrease | Decrease | Decrease | Decrease |
| Past Year Alcohol Use Disorder | Decrease | Decrease | Decrease | Decrease |
| Past Year Drug Use Disorder | Decrease | Stable | Stable | Stable |
| Past Year Marijuana Use Disorder | Stable | Stable | Increase | Increase |
| Past Year Opioid Use Disorder | Stable | Stable | Decrease | Decrease |
| Past Year CNS Stimulant Use Disorder | Stable | Stable | Stable | Stable |
| * Comparison is trend from 2022 to 2025 | ||||
Mental Health Among Adults 18 Years or Older
Among adults 18 years or older in the U.S., 6.6% had moderate or severe symptoms of anxiety and 14.3% had mild symptoms based on the GAD-7 scale (Figure 5). Moderate to severe symptoms were more common among 18 to 25 year-olds (12.2%) compared to adults 26 to 49 year-olds (8.1%) and adults 50 years or older (3.7%).
Figure 5. Generalized Anxiety Symptom Severity in the Past 2 Weeks Among Adults 18 Years Older, 2025
Among adults 18 years or older, 7.4% (19.7 million) had a past year major depressive episode (MDE). The percentage of adults aged 18 or older who had a past year MDE with severe impairment was 5.2% (13.8 million) in 2025. As with generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, a larger percentage of adults 18 to 25 years old had MDE and MDE with severe impairment (14.2% and 10.2%, respectively) compared to adults aged 26 to 49 (9.1% and 6.7%) and 50 or older (4.0% and 2.5%).
About 1 in 5 adults 18 years or older (20.6%; 54.6 million) had any mental illness (AMI) in the past year (Figure 6). The percentage of adults 18 to 25 years old with AMI was 28.6%, followed by 27.1% of adults 26 to 49 years old, and 12.8% of adults 50 or older. In 2025, 6.9% (18.2 million) of adults aged 18 years or older had serious mental illness (SMI) in the past year. Among adult age groups, SMI was highest among 18 to 25 year olds (12.1%), followed by 26 to 49 year olds (9.6%), and adults 50 years or older (3.0%).
Figure 6. Percentage of Adults with Any Mental Illness and Serious Mental Illness in the Past Year, 2025
Suicidal Thoughts, Plans, and Attempts Among Adults
Among adults 18 years or older in 2025, 5.3% (13.9 million) reported serious thoughts of suicide in the past year, 1.8% (4.9 million) made a suicide plan, and 0.9% (2.3 million attempted suicide (Figure 7).
Figure 7. Suicidal Thoughts, Plans, and Attempts Among Adults, 2025
Adolescent Mental Health
Among adolescents aged 12 to 17 in 2025, about 1 in 5 (18.0%; 4.6 million) had moderate or severe symptoms of anxiety and about 1 in 4 adolescents (23.6%; 6.0 million) had mild symptoms of anxiety (Figure 8).
Figure 8. Generalized Anxiety Symptom Severity in the Past 2 Weeks Among Adolescents Aged 12 to 17 Years Old, 2025
Among adolescents aged 12 to 17, 15.1% (3.7 million) had a past year major depressive episode (MDE) and 11.0% (2.7 million; 73.8% of those with MDE) had a past year MDE with severe impairment in 2025 (Figure 9).
Figure 9. Number and Percentage of Adolescents with Major Depressive Episode and Major Depressive Episode with Severe Impairment, 2025
Suicidal Thoughts, Plans, and Attempts Among Adolescents
In 2025, 2.6 million (10.4%) adolescents reported serious thoughts of suicide, 1.3 million (5.1%) made a suicide plan, and 738,000 (2.9%) attempted suicide (Figure 10).
Figure 10. Suicidal Thoughts, Plans, and Attempts Among 12 to 17 Years Old, 2025
Non-suicidal Self-Harm Among Adolescents
For the first time in 2025, NSDUH included questions to assess non-suicidal self-harm among adolescents aged 12 to 17. Respondents were asked whether, during the past 12 months, they intentionally harmed themselves without trying to kill themselves, such as by cutting, burning, or bruising themselves.
In 2025, 11.2% (2.8 million) of adolescents aged 12 to 17 engaged in non-suicidal self-harm in the past year. In addition, 2.9% (735,000) reported there were unsure or did not know whether they had intentionally harmed themselves without trying to kill themselves, and 5.6% (1.4 million) did not want to report whether they had engaged in these behaviors.
Key Mental Health Prevalence Trends From 2021 to 2025 – Adolescents
Among adolescents aged 12 to 17, prevalence for all key indicators declined between 2021 and 2025. This included declines in major depressive episode (MDE), MDE with severe impairment, co-occurring MDE and substance use disorder (SUD), co-occurring MDE with severe impairment and SUD, serious thoughts of suicide, making a suicide plan, and suicide attempt in the past year (Table 2).
Table 2. Key Mental Health Prevalence Trends from 2021 to 2025 – Adolescents
| Mental Health Indicator | 12 to 17 |
|---|---|
| Major Depressive Episode (MDE) | Decrease |
| Major Depressive Episode (MDE) with Severe Impairment | Decrease |
| Co-Occurring MDE and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) | Decrease |
| Co-Occurring MDE with Severe Impairment and SUD | Decrease |
| Serious Thoughts of Suicide | Decrease |
| Suicide Plan | Decrease |
| Suicide Attempt | Decrease |
Key Mental Health Prevalence Trends From 2021 to 2025 – Adults
Among adults 18 or older, most mental health indicators remained stable or declined between 2021 and 2025, although there were notable differences by age groups. Specifically, all indicators declined among adults 18 to 25, whereas most indicators for adults 26 to 49 and 50 or older remained stable. However, all three suicide indicators increased from 2021 to 2025 among adults 26 to 49 and those 50 or older (Table 3).
Table 3. Key Mental Health Prevalence Trends from 2021 to 2025 – Adults
| Mental Health Indicator | 18 to 25 | 26 to 49 | 50 or Older | 18 or Older |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major Depressive Episode (MDE) | Decrease | Stable | Stable | Decrease |
| Major Depressive Episode (MDE) with Severe Impairment | Decrease | Stable | Decrease | Decrease |
| Co-Occurring MDE and SUD | Decrease | Stable | Stable | Decrease |
| Co-Occurring MDE with Severe Impairment and SUD | Decrease | Stable | Stable | Decrease |
| Any Mental Illness | Decrease | Stable | Stable | Stable |
| Serious Mental Illness | Decrease | Stable | Stable | Decrease |
| Co-Occurring AMI and SUD | Decrease | Stable | Stable | Stable |
| Co-Occurring SMI and SUD | Decrease | Stable | Stable | Decrease |
| Serious Thoughts of Suicide | Decrease | Increase | Increase | Stable |
| Suicide Plan | Decrease | Increase | Increase | Increase |
| Suicide Attempt | Decrease | Increase | Increase | Increase |
Treatment for Substance Use Disorders and Mental Illness
In 2025, fewer than 1 in 5 people (16.0%) who needed substance use treatment received treatment in the past year. Treatment receipt was highest among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years (22.8% of those needing treatment reported receiving treatment in the past year), followed by those 26 years or older (17.1%) and those 18 to 25 years old (9.6%) (Figure 11).
Figure 11. Receipt of Substance Use Treatment in the Past Year Among People Aged 12 or Older Who Needed Substance Use Treatment in the Past Year, 2025
In 2025, among the 7.6 million Americans who received substance use treatment in the past year, most received outpatient treatment (4.4 million), followed by telehealth treatment (3.6 million), and inpatient treatment (2.2 million) (Figure 12).
Figure 12. Types and Locations of Substance Use Treatment Received in the Past Year Among People Aged 12 or Older, 2025
In 2025, among adults with any mental illness and those with serious mental illness, the majority received mental health treatment in the past year. Overall, 50.9% of adults with any mental illness and 67.7% of those with serious mental illness received mental health treatment. There were small variations in treatment receipt by age groups (Figure 13).
Figure 13. Receipt of Mental Health Treatment in the Past Year Among People Adults 18 or Older with Any Mental Illness or Serious Mental Illness in the Past Year, 2025
Among the 3.7 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 in 2025 that had a past year major depressive episode, 57.7% (2.1 million) reported receiving mental health treatment in the past year (Figure 14).
Figure 14. Types and Locations of Mental Health Treatment in the Past Year Among Adolescents Aged 12 to 17 with a Past Year Major Depressive Episode (MDE), 2025
Substance Use and Mental Health Recovery
In 2025, among adults 18 or older, 22.3 million considered themselves to be in recovery or to have recovered from their drug or alcohol use problem. Similarly, 44.1 million adults aged 18 or older considered themselves to be in recovery or to have recovered from their mental health issue (Figure 15).
Figure 15. Recovery Among Adults 18 Years or Older, 2025
Progress and Opportunities: Using NSDUH Data to Drive Policy, Program, and Practice
The results from the 2025 NSDUH identify many areas of progress in our work to prevent and reduce the burden of substance use, addiction, mental illness, and suicide in America. The 2025 data also highlight important opportunities for action as we advance the Great American Recovery.
On the progress front, we see from the 2025 NSDUH that the prevalence of most substance use indicators among people 12 years or older remained stable or decreased between 2021 and 2025. This includes significant declines in past month use of tobacco, cigarettes, alcohol, binge drinking, past year misuse of prescription opioids and prescription tranquilizers, past year initiation of nicotine vaping and marijuana use, and past year substance use disorder, alcohol use disorder, and opioid use disorder.
The declines seen among youth and young adults are particularly noteworthy, building off emerging trends we saw in the 2024 NSDUH. Among youth aged 12 to 17, declines were seen for past month use of tobacco, alcohol, binge drinking, and marijuana, past year use of any illicit drug and marijuana, and past year substance use disorder, alcohol use disorder, and drug use disorder. Additionally, the declines in past year initiation for alcohol, nicotine vaping, and marijuana among youth aged 12 to 17 are especially encouraging, and represent the potential for continued downward trends in youth substance use in years to come. In addition, among young adults aged 18 to 25, nearly all past month and past year indicators declined, suggesting that the longer-term declines we have been seeing in youth substance use are persisting into at least early adulthood.
Importantly, these decreases represent more than statistical changes, they translate to tangible impacts among Americans. For example, compared to 2021, an estimated 250,000 fewer adolescents initiated alcohol use in 2025; for marijuana it was 300,000 fewer adolescents. Among young adults, approximately 400,000 fewer 18 to 25 year olds initiated nicotine vaping in 2025 compared to 2022 (Figure 16).
Figure 16. Examples of Declines in Number of People Reporting Initiation of Select Substance by Age Group, 2025
* The baseline comparison year for nicotine vaping initiation is 2022.
The declines seen overall and across all three age groups for substance use disorder and alcohol use disorder are also encouraging. Among people 12 years or older, the decline in past year alcohol use disorder reflects an estimated 4 million fewer people with alcohol use disorder in 2025 compared to 2021, and for substance use disorder the decline represents 2.2 million fewer people with a substance use disorder in 2025 compared to 2021 (Figure 17).
Figure 17. Examples of Declines in Number of People With Alcohol Use Disorder and Substance Use Disorder in Past Year, 2025
The 2025 NSDUH also found notable declines for mental health and suicide indicators. In fact, for youth aged 12 to 17 and young adults aged 18 to 25, all key indicators reported in the annual NSDUH report declined, including major depressive episode (MDE), co-occurring mental illness and substance use disorder (SUD), and all past year suicide indicators. And among adults 18 and older, we saw declines in MDE with and without severe impairment, co-occurring MDE with and without severe impairment and SUD, serious mental illness, and co-occurring serious mental illness and SUD.
Although there are many positive findings in the 2025 NSDUH, the study also identified key trends that are heading in the wrong direction. This includes increases in the prevalence of past month nicotine vaping and marijuana use, past year use of marijuana and hallucinogens, and past year marijuana use disorder. Interestingly, it is important to point out that these increases are driven by use among adults aged 26 or older. For each of these indicators, use among adults 26 or older all increased whereas use among youth 12 to 17 and young adults aged 18 to 25 either declined or remained stable.
The continued rise in marijuana and hallucinogen use among adults is worth highlighting as these patterns are important to inform current and future prevention and treatment efforts given changing attitudes and norms around use of these substances and the rapidly shifting state and federal policy landscape. As products become more readily available in communities and the lines between nonmedical and medical use of these substances shifts, it is critical that accurate and accessible information about risks and potential consequences of use, especially use among youth and young adults, are provided to the public, healthcare providers, and policymakers, and integrated into ongoing prevention and treatment strategies in communities.
Although most mental health trends improved or remained stable, the NSDUH did find that trends in suicide indicators among adults aged 26 to 49 and those 50 or older increased between 2021 and 2025 (Figure 18). This contrasts with the declines seen among youth aged 12 to 17 and young adults aged 18 to 25. These findings highlight the importance of ensuring a lifespan approach to suicide prevention and mental health promotion and treatment initiatives, including incorporating age-related changes in physical abilities and social environments into prevention strategies.
Figure 18. Past Year Suicide Indicators Among Adults 18 Years or Older, 2025
In addition to changing trends, the NSDUH identified persistent challenges that are essential to highlight and inform prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts moving forward.
As in prior years, the NSDUH data emphasizes the substantial overlap between substance use and mental health. Although the mental health and substance use systems have often been siloed and funded separately in the U.S., NSDUH findings clearly show that mental health and substance use and addiction and mental illness commonly co-occur. For both adults and adolescents with mental health challenges, the prevalence of substance use is significantly higher compared to those without mental health challenges.
For adolescents, as shown in Figure 19, whether it is adolescents with major depressive episode or moderate or severe anxiety symptoms, the prevalence of each substance use indictor is significantly higher among adolescents with mental health challenges. For most substances, the prevalence of use is 2 to 3 times as high among those with mental health challenges compared to those without.
Figure 19. Prevalence of Substance Use Among Adolescents 12 to 17 by Mental Health Status, 2025
The same is seen for adults with any mental illness and serious mental illness as well as adults with moderate or severe anxiety symptoms (Figure 20). As with adolescents, the prevalence of use among adults with mental health challenges is typically 2 to 3 times as high as that of adults with no mental health issues. And for past year opioid misuse the prevalence of misuse is over 4 times as high among adults with serious mental illness and those with moderate or severe anxiety symptoms.
Figure 20. Prevalence of Substance Use Among Adults 18 or Older by Mental Health Status, 2025
Not surprisingly, we see a similar overlap when looking at mental illness and addiction (Figure 21). Among the 54.6 million adults with any mental illness in the past year, 33.9% (18.5 million) had a substance use disorder. And among the 18.2 million adults with serious mental illness in the past year 42.9% (7.8 million) had a substance use disorder. In reverse, of the 42.7 million adults with a past year substance use disorder, 43.3% had any mental illness and 18.3% had serious mental illness.
Figure 21. Any Mental Illness, Serious Mental Illness, and Substance Use Disorder Among Adults 18 or Older, 2025
In addition to the overlap of substance use and mental health, the 2025 NSDUH underscores the substantial gap that persists in treatment access and receipt in the U.S. In 2025, among people who needed substance use treatment in the past year, 16% or roughly 1 in 6 people, actually received treatment. Flipping this statistic means that nearly 85% of people who could have benefited from evidence-based addiction treatment did not get it.
Particularly concerning, even among alcohol use disorder and opioid use disorder where FDA-approved medications for treatment exist, only a very small percentage of people received these treatments. In 2025, 2.6% of people with a past year alcohol use disorder received medications for alcohol use disorder, and 15.7% of people with a past year opioid use disorder received medications for opioid use disorder.
Individuals endorsed a number of reasons for not receiving treatment including thinking they should be able to handle their alcohol or drug use on their own, not being ready to stop or cut back their use, not having enough time for treatment, and being worried about what people would think or say if they got treatment (Table 4).
Table 4. Reasons for Not Receiving Substance Use Treatment Among Adults with a Past Year Substance Use Disorder Who Perceived an Unmet Need for Treatment, 2025
| Reason for Not Receiving Treatment | Percentage |
| Should be able to handle their alcohol or drug use on their own | 82.5 |
| Not ready to stop or cut back on use of alcohol or drugs | 68.4 |
| Not being ready to start treatment | 67.7 |
| Not having enough time for treatment | 54.3 |
| Worried about what people would think or say if they got treatment | 41.4 |
| Not knowing how or where to get treatment | 40.5 |
| Think that treatment would cost too much | 39.2 |
| Think bad things would happen if people knew they were in treatment such as losing job, home, or children | 34.9 |
| Not able to find treatment program or healthcare professional they wanted to go to | 32.7 |
| Think treatment would not help them | 31.5 |
| Not having enough health insurance coverage to pay for costs of treatment | 30.4 |
While the treatment gap is not as stark for mental illness as it is for addiction, we still see that nearly 43% of adolescents with major depressive episode in 2025 did not receive treatment in the past year. Additionally, among adults with any mental illness, nearly half (49.1%) received no treatment in the past year, and among those with serious mental illness, nearly one-third (32.3%) did not receive treatment in 2025. Similar to substance use disorder, reasons for not receiving mental health treatment ranged from time and cost concerns to stigma-related concerns (Table 5).
Table 5. Reasons for Not Receiving Mental Health Treatment Among Adults with Any Mental Illness in the Past Year Who Perceived an Unmet Need for Treatment, 2025
| Reason for Not Receiving Treatment | Percentage |
| Should be able to handle their mental health, emotions, or behavior on their own | 72.9 |
| Think treatment would cost too much | 61.4 |
| Not having enough time for treatment | 48.3 |
| Not being ready to start treatment | 47.7 |
| Not knowing how or where to get treatment | 44.9 |
| Not finding a treatment program or a healthcare professional they wanted to go to | 43.2 |
| Health insurance not paying enough for costs for treatment | 40.3 |
| Not having health insurance coverage for mental health treatment | 39.0 |
Conclusion
The 2025 NSDUH findings represent more than numbers and percentages. They reflect the experiences, challenges, and perspectives of Americans — our loved ones, our friends, our neighbors — who are navigating the complex landscape of substance use and mental health in our nation.
The findings identify key opportunities and serve as a call to action as an Agency, as the field of behavioral health, and as a collective community of citizens to build on the progress we are making in reducing substance use, improving mental health, and driving down overdose and suicide.
In doing this work, we must remain strategic and intentional in developing systems of care that will meet the needs of individuals with behavioral health conditions where they are with compassion. A system that provides Americans with better access to evidence-based treatment, sustained recovery support, and the opportunity to rebuild their lives.
We have a unique opportunity, at this moment in time, to build a recovery-focused society and embed recovery principles in our work in communities across the nation. We can move from a pill culture to a purpose culture, from chemical coping to human connection. We must all recognize that health is created not only through the clinical care we may receive, but through the lives we build, the relationships we sustain, and our service to others.
Finally, the more than 22 million Americans that report being in addiction recovery and the more than 44 million that report being in recovery from their mental illness in the 2025 NSDUH represent the hope and promise that recovery is possible. They are the tangible representation of the Great American Recovery we are committed to achieving.
At SAMHSA, we are steadfast partners in this effort and our work will continue to strategically leverage our data, expertise, resources, training, and technical assistance to ensure that people with, affected by, or at risk for mental health and substance use conditions receive care, achieve well-being, and thrive.
Conducted by the federal government since 1971, the NSDUH is a primary source of statistical information on self-reported substance use and mental health. The NSDUH report provides nationally representative data on the self-reported use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs; substance use disorders; mental health conditions; suicidal thoughts and behaviors; and substance use and mental health treatment and recovery among the civilian, noninstitutionalized population aged 12 or older in the United States. The annual NSDUH report is a statistical product from SAMHSA’s Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, one of 16 Federal Statistical Units.
