Decline in Adolescent Substance Use in the United States

MONDAY, December 23, 2024 (HealthDay News) — According to the Monitoring the Future Survey, funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), adolescent substance use remains at consistently low levels for the fourth year in a row.

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

The results showed that alcohol use remained stable among eighth graders, with 12.9 percent reporting drinking in the previous 12 months, and decreased for 10th and 12th graders (26.1 percent in 2024 vs. 30.6 percent in 2023 for 10th grade and 41.7 versus 45.7 percent, respectively, for 12th grade). Nicotine use remained stable among eighth graders (9.6 percent) and twelfth graders (21.0 percent) and decreased among tenth graders to 15.4 percent reporting use in the previous 12 months, down from 17.6 percent in 2023.

Nicotine pouch use remained stable among eighth graders (0.6 percent) but increased among the two upper grades (10th grade: 3.4 percent vs. 1.9 percent in 2023; 12th grade: 5.9 and 2, 9 percent respectively). Eighth and 10th graders reported consistent cannabis use (7.2 and 15.9 percent, respectively), while 12th graders reported past 12-month cannabis use (25.8 percent vs. 29.0 percent in 2023). Use of any other illicit drug (past-year use of cocaine, heroin, and prescription drug abuse) declined among eighth graders (3.4 percent vs. 4.6 percent in 2023) and remained stable for 10th and 12th graders (4.4 and 6.5 percent, respectively). ). Past 30-day abstinence from marijuana, alcohol, and nicotine remained stable for eighth graders (89.5 percent) and increased for the two upper grades (10th: 80.2 percent vs. 76.9 percent in 2023; 12th : 67.1 percent versus 62.6 percent in 2023).

“This downward trend in adolescent substance use is unprecedented,” said Nora D. Volkov, MD, director of the NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse. “We must continue to investigate the factors that contributed to this reduced risk of substance use in order to tailor interventions to support the continuation of this trend.”

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