Teens Smoke and Drink Less, but Still Abuse Prescription Medication

More teenagers are saying no to cigarettes and alcohol, according to a survey, which also found that misuse of prescription pain medication remains high.

Scientists at the University of Michigan, who have conducted the federally funded annual survey since the mid-1970s, found that drug use in general had dropped 19% over the last four years. High on the list of substances teens are less apt to touch: cigarettes. Smoking rates among eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders are at the lowest point since 1975.

“It is extraordinary,” said Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the federal agency that funds the survey. “This is great news. Our anti-drug campaigns are getting through.” She said the numbers suggested 700,000 more American teenagers were staying away from illicit drugs.

The researchers, led by Lloyd D. Johnston of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, began by surveying high school seniors and added eighth- and 10th-graders in 1991. They send out questionnaires annually to 50,000 teenagers in 400 schools across the country.

The teen brain is particularly vulnerable to drug abuse, said Dr. Herbert D. Kleber, a professor of psychiatry and director of the division on substance abuse at Columbia University Medical School.

“The earlier a person starts, the more likely he or she is to continue doing drugs in later years,” he said. Delaying drug use can prevent future drug abuse.

But the annual survey also revealed that about 1 in 10 teenagers continued to abuse prescription drugs. The survey said 8.6% of teens misused amphetamines and 9.5% admitted using the painkiller Vicodin. Many find such drugs in the family medicine cabinet or get them on the Internet.

The number of teenagers abusing prescription drugs has not increased, but levels are high and remain the same as last year, Volkow said.

“Clean your cabinets of all medicines that have abuse potential,” she said. “Parents are the first line of defense. Be alert to any behavioral changes in your children.”

In 2002, the researchers began asking students about the highly addictive prescription painkiller OxyContin. That year, 4% of 12th-graders said that they had tried OxyContin. This year, the rate climbed to 5.5%.

In the survey, teenagers are asked about their use of drugs, tobacco and alcohol in the preceding month and year.

Lifetime use of cigarettes declined 2% among eighth-graders, 1.7% among 10th-graders and 2.8% among seniors, the survey said.

Alcohol use was down from the previous year by 2.7% among eighth-graders, 1.5% among 10th-graders and 2.1% among 12th-graders.

Methamphetamine use showed similar declines, as did steroid use. Marijuana use also was down.