🚭 Teen drug and alcohol use reaches historic low levels

• Alcohol consumption among middle school students in the US has decreased from 46 to 13 percent since 1997.
• Marijuana use is at its lowest in three decades among high school students.
• Nicotine vaping among seniors has decreased from 35 to 21 percent since 2020.

Sharp decline in alcohol consumption

The annual "Monitoring the Future" survey shows that alcohol consumption among young people has decreased significantly. Among seniors, 42 percent now report drinking alcohol, compared to 75 percent in 1997. For tenth graders, the number has dropped from 65 to 26 percent during the same period.

The survey shows that marijuana use is at its lowest recorded level in three decades. Among seniors, 26 percent use marijuana, while the figure for tenth graders is 16 percent.

The use of e-cigarettes has also decreased significantly. Among seniors, 21 percent use nicotine vaping, which can be compared to 35 percent in 2020 and 19 percent in 2017.

Changed social pattern

The downward trend began during the pandemic when young people socialized less. Richard Miech, principal investigator of the study, notes that many experts expected drug use to increase again when restrictions were lifted - but this has not happened.

An exception to the positive trends is the use of nicotine pouches. About 6 percent of seniors report having used nicotine pouches, which is an increase from 3 percent in 2023. The FDA has noticed the problem with retailers selling nicotine pouches to minors.

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