Study: Most US Teens Do Not Drink, Smoke
2024-12-31
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1Drug use among teenagers has continued to drop since the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large national study says.
2The federally financed Monitoring the Future study has been carried out yearly since 1975.
3However, the study only started measuring abstinence - the practice of rejecting alcohol or recreational drug use - in 2017.
4This year's findings are based on answers from about 24,000 students in grades 8, 10 and 12 in schools across the United States.
5One major finding: About 66 percent of 12th graders said they had not used alcohol, marijuana, and traditional or electronic cigarettes in the previous 30 days.
6That share, or proportion, of students is the largest since the yearly study started measuring abstinence.
7The study is "one of the best, if not the best" source of national data for substance use by teens, said Noah Kreski.
8Kreski is a Columbia University data analyst who has studied teen drug use.
9Among 10th graders, 80 percent said they had not used alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes or e-cigarettes recently, another record.
10Among 8th graders, 90 percent did not use any of them, the same as was reported in the previous study.
11The only major increase found was in the use of nicotine pouches, small, white containers of nicotine which users place in their mouths.
12About 6 percent of 12th graders said they had used that form of nicotine in the past year, up from about 3 percent in 2023.
13Whether that has the makings of a new public health problem is unclear.
14The University of Michigan's Richard Miech, who leads the study, said: "It's hard to know if we're seeing the start of something, or not."
15Early in the pandemic, students across the country were told not to go to schools and to avoid parties or other gatherings.
16Alcohol and drug use of all kinds dropped likely because use most often happens in friend group settings.
17Friends often influence each other to use drugs, experts say.
18As lockdowns ended, "I think everyone expected at least a partial rebound," Miech said.
19Even before the pandemic, there were decreases in teen cigarette smoking, drinking and the use of several kinds of drugs.
20Experts suggested that teens were staying home as opposed to spending time in social settings, in which use of illegal substances is more likely.
21But marijuana use was not falling before the pandemic.
22And vaping was increasing. It was only during the pandemic that those activities began to decrease also.
23Some experts wonder if the pandemic lockdowns had a deeper influence.
24Miech noted that a lot of teens who experiment with e-cigarettes or drugs start in the 9th grade, sometimes because older children are doing it.
25But the children who were 9th graders during the lockdowns never picked up the activity.
26And they never had the opportunity to turn into negative influencers of their younger classmates, he said.
27"The pandemic stopped the cycle of new kids coming in and being recruited to drug use," Miech said.
28Mental health may also play a part.
29There were increased reports of depression and anxiety in kids after the pandemic began.
30Depression is often linked with substance use,
31but some people with depression and anxiety are very cautious about experimenting with drugs, said Dr. Duncan Clark.
32Clark is a University of Pittsburgh medical doctor who researches substance use in kids.
33"Some teens with anxiety are worried about the effects of substances.
34They may also be socially inhibited and have less opportunity to use drugs," Clark said.
35I'm John Russell.
1Drug use among teenagers has continued to drop since the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large national study says. 2The federally financed Monitoring the Future study has been carried out yearly since 1975. However, the study only started measuring abstinence - the practice of rejecting alcohol or recreational drug use - in 2017. 3This year's findings are based on answers from about 24,000 students in grades 8, 10 and 12 in schools across the United States. 4One major finding: About 66 percent of 12th graders said they had not used alcohol, marijuana, and traditional or electronic cigarettes in the previous 30 days. 5That share, or proportion, of students is the largest since the yearly study started measuring abstinence. 6The study is "one of the best, if not the best" source of national data for substance use by teens, said Noah Kreski. Kreski is a Columbia University data analyst who has studied teen drug use. 7Among 10th graders, 80 percent said they had not used alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes or e-cigarettes recently, another record. Among 8th graders, 90 percent did not use any of them, the same as was reported in the previous study. 8The only major increase found was in the use of nicotine pouches, small, white containers of nicotine which users place in their mouths. About 6 percent of 12th graders said they had used that form of nicotine in the past year, up from about 3 percent in 2023. 9Whether that has the makings of a new public health problem is unclear. The University of Michigan's Richard Miech, who leads the study, said: "It's hard to know if we're seeing the start of something, or not." 10Early in the pandemic, students across the country were told not to go to schools and to avoid parties or other gatherings. Alcohol and drug use of all kinds dropped likely because use most often happens in friend group settings. Friends often influence each other to use drugs, experts say. 11As lockdowns ended, "I think everyone expected at least a partial rebound," Miech said. 12Even before the pandemic, there were decreases in teen cigarette smoking, drinking and the use of several kinds of drugs. Experts suggested that teens were staying home as opposed to spending time in social settings, in which use of illegal substances is more likely. 13But marijuana use was not falling before the pandemic. And vaping was increasing. It was only during the pandemic that those activities began to decrease also. 14Some experts wonder if the pandemic lockdowns had a deeper influence. 15Miech noted that a lot of teens who experiment with e-cigarettes or drugs start in the 9th grade, sometimes because older children are doing it. But the children who were 9th graders during the lockdowns never picked up the activity. And they never had the opportunity to turn into negative influencers of their younger classmates, he said. 16"The pandemic stopped the cycle of new kids coming in and being recruited to drug use," Miech said. 17Mental health may also play a part. There were increased reports of depression and anxiety in kids after the pandemic began. Depression is often linked with substance use, but some people with depression and anxiety are very cautious about experimenting with drugs, said Dr. Duncan Clark. Clark is a University of Pittsburgh medical doctor who researches substance use in kids. 18"Some teens with anxiety are worried about the effects of substances. They may also be socially inhibited and have less opportunity to use drugs," Clark said. 19I'm John Russell. 20Mike Stobbe reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 21______________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23teenager - n. a child over the age of 12 24nicotine - n. an alkaloid substance that is the chief active principle of tobacco 25rebound - n. an upward movement 26inhibit -v. to prohibit from doing something; to discourage from activity