Countywide chemical dependence

Adult residents of Butte County abuse alcohol and tobacco at higher rates than Californians overall, while teenagers here are much more likely to try drugs, according to figures in a recently released report.

The Butte County Community Health Assessment for 2015-17, compiled by multi-agency partnership Together We Can: Healthy Living in Butte County, finds that 35 percent of adults in the county binge drink, compared with 31 percent in California as a whole, while nearly 19 percent of county residents report using tobacco, compared with a statewide rate of 13 percent. As for illicit drugs, male teenagers in Butte County are much more likely to have tried them—about 42 percent have—compared with a rate of 16 percent among their statewide peers.

The age-adjusted rate for drug-induced fatalities in Butte County is three times higher than California overall, with Butte ranking third of 58 counties for the most drug-induced deaths. Go to togetherwecanbc.com to view the full report.