USA Today, 10 October 2005, includes an article by Rita Rubin,  
"Addiction Has Many Fathers,  Science Finds," the first in a series  
on drug and alcohol (with a related HBO special in January 2007).   
Among other things, the article cites a 2004 National Survey on Drug  
Use and Health that among Americans aged 12 and up nearly 8.4 million  
were addicted to alcohol and nearly 5 million to other drugs, with  
about 1.4 million addicted to both alcohol and other drugs.  In this  
context, addiction meant more than dependency.  It meant the  
inability to stop.  The article emphasized the role of stress in  
creating addiction and also family environment/inheritance.

My question: is the per capita addictions in the USA comparable to  
that elsewhere or higher or lower?