Rates of Substance Use Down for Teens in the United States

MONDAY, Dec. 23, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Substance use among adolescents has continued to hold steady at lowered levels for the fourth year in a row, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Monitoring the Future Survey.

The Monitoring the Future survey, conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, included 24,257 surveys (February through June 2024) from students in eighth, 10th, and 12th grades, enrolled across 272 public and private schools in the United States.

Results showed alcohol use remained stable for eighth graders, with 12.9 percent reporting use in the previous 12 months, and declined for 10th and 12th graders (26.1 percent in 2024 versus 30.6 percent in 2023 for 10th grade, and 41.7 versus 45.7 percent, respectively, for 12th grade). Nicotine vaping remained steady for eighth graders (9.6 percent) and 12th graders (21.0 percent) and declined among 10th graders to 15.4 percent reporting use in the previous 12 months versus 17.6 percent in 2023.

Nicotine pouch use remained stable for eighth graders (0.6 percent), but increased among the two older grades (10th grade: 3.4 percent versus 1.9 percent in 2023; 12th grade: 5.9 and 2.9 percent, respectively). Eighth and 10th graders reported stable cannabis use (7.2 and 15.9 percent, respectively), while past 12-month cannabis use declined among 12th graders (25.8 percent versus 29.0 percent in 2023). Use of any other illicit drug (past-year use of cocaine, heroin, and misuse of prescription drugs) declined among eighth graders (3.4 percent versus 4.6 percent in 2023) and remained stable for 10th and 12th graders (4.4 and 6.5 percent, respectively). Abstaining from marijuana, alcohol, and nicotine in the past 30 days remained stable for eighth graders (89.5 percent) and increased for the two older grades (10th: 80.2 percent versus 76.9 percent in 2023; 12th: 67.1 percent versus 62.6 percent in 2023).

“This trend in the reduction of substance use among teenagers is unprecedented,” Nora D. Volkow, M.D., director of NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse, said in a statement. “We must continue to investigate factors that have contributed to this lowered risk of substance use to tailor interventions to support the continuation of this trend.”

More Information