Here’s some halfway-decent news—many teens are now reported to use drugs and alcohol less than ever. A survey conducted by the University of Michigan surveys 8th, 10th, and 12th graders annually, as granted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. They found that teenagers are now misusing drugs and alcohol at markedly lower rates. But that’s still no reason to slow down on drug resistance education, or a message of abstinence, for that matter.
While youth are using less and less, adults are now using more types of drugs, in increasing intensity. Most significantly, the opioid epidemic has plagued the adult population, and opioid overdose rates are now higher than ever before. Of course, this doesn’t take into account other upward trends in teenage substance use disorder, as new products hit the market. And as U.S. Surgeon General Murthy has advised in his latest report, it’s now more crucial than ever to prioritize effective drug and alcohol abuse prevention in teenagers and children.
In trends among teens, a troubling scenario is that of teens smoking electronic cigarettes with little to no knowledge of what’s actually in them, while potentially developing nicotine addictions, and not even necessarily through regular, sustained use.
What’s in an e-cig?
12th graders were asked if they knew what they were consuming:
- 5.6% were completely unaware of what was inhaled from an e-cig.
- 62.8% believed it was just flavoring—though e-cigs often contain nicotine.
It’s this lack of knowledge that is troubling, and it’s equally troubling that we really don’t know the long-term effects of products like e-cigs—they simply haven’t been around for long enough.
Specifically, for 12th graders, Vicodin abuse has plunged in the past 5 years, dropping from 7.5% to 2.9%. Overall, prescription opioid usage has dropped among high school seniors. As they embark on journeys to college or otherwise, life after high school in the real-world can be daunting. Adulthood is stressful, and beginning that journey with the burden of a drug addiction can make moving forward seem nearly impossible.
