Teen smoking rates down; drug use steady

Drug abuse among US adolescents remained steady in 2008, compared with recent years, but cigarette smoking is at a historic low, according to the 2008 Monitoring the Future survey, released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Students in grades 8, 10 and 12 continue to show a gradual decline in their use of certain drugs, specifically amphetamines, methamphetamine, crystal metamphetamine, cocaine, and crack, according to the latest survey. However, the results, which were announced at a press conference, are “very, very fragile,” said director of the National Drug Control Policy Office. “We still have more work to do.” Contributing to the decline in use are efforts by the federal government to reduce drug availability.

The survey, entitled “Monitoring the Future: National Survey Results on Drug Use” (MTF), has been conducted annually among 12th grade students in the United States since 1975, and among 8th and 10th graders since 1991. This year’s survey included data from 46,348 students in 386 public and private schools in the continental United States.

Overall, 14.6 percent of teens reported using illicit drugs in the previous month, representing a 25 percent decrease in use from 2001, which is statistically significant. In addition, 15.4 percent of 12th graders reported abusing prescription drugs during 2008, with 9.7 percent of this student group reporting nonmedical use of the prescription painkiller Vicodin, and 4.7 percent reporting abuse of OxyContin. These rates are essentially unchanged from 2007.

In addition, marijuana use plateaued: 10.9 percent, 23.9 percent, and 32.4 percent of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, respectively, reported using marijuana in the past year, basically mirroring 2007 findings. However, fewer eighth graders said they thought smoking marijuana was harmful or said that they disapproved of their use, compared with responses from the previous year’s survey.

Notable data on older teens’ attitudes about drugs included a continuing downward trend in the numbers of 12th graders who said they thought LSD use was harmful.

On a positive note, cigarette smoking rates continued to show a steady decline for all grades. The percentage of teens who reported cigarette use was 12.6 percent in 2008, compared with 20.2 percent in 2001. But smoking remains a significant threat to adolescent health. More than one in 10 of 12th graders who participated smoking half a pack of cigarettes daily.

Alcohol use continued to decline at all three grade levels, but underage drinking remains a problem, especially among older teens. Nearly 25 percent of 12th reported having five or more consecutive drinks at least once during the two weeks prior to taking the survey.

“Drug addiction is a disease of the brain,” the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse said. She said physicians should be vigilant about screening teenagers and, when appropriate, providing interventions.