Survey Finds Sharp Drop in Youth Smoking

New teen smokers fall by one-third; drug use flat

FRIDAY, Oct. 5, 2001 (HealthDayNews) -- Illegal drug use among teenagers stayed roughly the same between 1999 and 2000, but the number of adolescents who took up smoking has fallen sharply, according to a new government survey.

Tobacco use among teens dropped by a third between 1997 and 1999, officials say, and the mantra that more than 3,000 adolescents take up smoking each day in this country is no longer true.

In another encouraging trend, the share of 12- and 13-year-olds who report recent drug use fell significantly between 1999 and 2000.

"For years we have heard that more than 3,000 young people each day become daily smokers. Over the past two years, we have seen that number decline by a third," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson says in a statement. "This change reflects years of public and private sector anti-tobacco efforts and will pay off in terms of millions of lives spared from the ravages of cigarette smoking."

In 1997, almost 3,200 Americans under the age of 18 took up the habit every day. In 1999, only 2,145 did. Teens who smoke are about 10 times more likely than nonsmokers to use illegal drugs, officials say.

The figures come from the latest National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, which involved interviews with 71,000 Americans conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a division of HHS.

Last year, about 14 million -- or 6.3 percent of people age 12 or older -- used marijuana, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, inhalants and other illegal drugs, the survey shows. That's well down from the 23 million users in 1985, says Howard Simon, a spokesman for the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

"Something's working here. I don't think we want to lose sight of that," says Simon. The question, he adds, is "How do we keep that going?"

Illicit drug use rose through adolescence, the survey found, with 3 percent of 12- and 13-year-olds reporting taking drugs, compared with almost 20 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 20. Drug use tails off as Americans get older, with the exception of adults between the ages of 40 and 44, who were teens in the experimental 1970s.

Marijuana use, on the rise during the early- and mid-1990s, appears to be flagging, according to the survey, which shows the number of pot smokers fell from 2.6 million in 1996 to 2 million in 1999.

However, that trend is tarnished by a rise in the number of people, especially young people, who report taking painkillers for pleasure. Overall, approximately 1.5 million people said they used pain drugs recreationally in 1999, up from fewer than 400,000 in the mid 1980s. Teens 12 to 17 make up 60 percent of the increase, with new users rising from 78,000 in 1985 to more than 720,000 in 1999.

John Burke, vice president of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators, says that figure probably "way underestimates" the true problem.

"Law enforcement agencies aren't giving it near the attention that it deserves," says Burke, who heads the Warren County drug task force in Lebanon, Ohio.

Although diverted prescription drugs have been a serious concern for at least three decades, Burke says, the recent misuse of the potent painkiller OxyContin has drawn a wave of attention from police, health officials and the media. The number of OxyContin abusers increased from 221,000 in 1999 to 399,000 in 2000, according to the survey.

Burke says the street price of OxyContin, which when crushed and then ingested delivers a heroin-like high, has spiked in the past weeks, suggesting it's getting harder to find. On the other hand, he says, reports have surfaced of people mixing the drug with methamphetamine, an addictive stimulant.

In what experts consider a good sign, the proportion of 12- and 13-year-olds who reported using drugs in the last month fell from just under 4 percent in 1999 to 3 percent in 2000, officials say.

"These findings offer hope that more and more young people are making the decision not to do drugs," Thompson says. "It is clear parents have a key role in their child's decision. Strong anti-drug attitudes by parents are one of the most powerful influences on our children."

Alcohol use among teens and young adults has remained flat, with about 9.7 million people -- or 27.5 percent of people 12 to 20 -- reporting drinking in the past month. Alarmingly, experts say, 6.6 million of those (almost 19 percent) said they drank in binges, while 2.1 million (6 percent) were considered heavy drinkers.

What To Do

For more on the survey, try the Department of Health and Human Services.

To learn more about drug use in America, check out the Partnership For A Drug-Free America, or the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators.

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