New Survey: Number of U.S. Teens Taking Illegal Drugs, Drinking Alcohol, & Smoking Tobacco Are Down, Including Cannabis Use
In the latest annual survey among American teens, figures showed an encouraging trend regarding the number of young students in the U.S. involved in the use of illegal drugs, alcohol drinking, and tobacco smoking.
The survey referred to as Monitoring the Future is a long-term and on-going study that dates back to 1975 and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. It involves the monitoring of around 45,000 students from close to 400 public and private secondary schools across the country.
The Numbers Are Down Almost Across The Board Since Early 1990s
The survey results for 2016 revealed that fewer American teens (8th, 10th, and 12th graders) are into the use of an illegal substance as compared to the data in the past years. And what's even better, the number for those who drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes is also falling.
On the one hand, while the use of marijuana among 8th and 10th graders also dropped in 2016, the number of 12th graders was a different story. Marijuana or cannabis use in that age bracket was higher and has steadily surged since 2011.
"The question is: Why is all this happening?" said Lloyd Johnston from the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research on the declining figures. "Even though we have some hypotheses, I don't know that we necessarily have the right ones."
Johnson, who has been leading the survey for decades, also added that this is the only time that the teen use of almost all the illegal substances has gone down, as far as he can remember, LiveScience also reported.
The Need To Sustain The Positive Trend
Meanwhile, according to one expert, while the latest numbers have yield positive results, there is still the need to ramp up the efforts to prevent teens from using illegal drugs and provide treatment for those who are already affected by the adverse health effects of substance abuse.
"It is encouraging to see more young people making healthy choices not to use illicit substances," National Drug Control Policy director Michael Botticelli said. "We must continue to do all we can to support young people through evidence-based prevention efforts, as well as treatment for those who may develop substance-use disorders."
