Teen smoking declines, use of Ecstasy slows

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Smoking is declining sharply among American teens, a finding health experts are hailing as good news for the public’s future health.

A report also disclosed that the recent sharp increases in the use of the drug Ecstasy are slowing, heroin use has decreased, notably among 10th- and 12th-graders, and a gradual decline in use of inhalants continued in 2001.

Decreases in cigarette smoking were observed for the eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders surveyed.

For eighth-graders: Some 12.2 percent reported smoking in the 30 days before they were surveyed, down from 14.6 percent the year before. The peak in the 1990s was 21 percent in 1996.

For 10th-graders: The survey found 21.3 percent had smoked in the last 30 days, down from 23.9 percent the year before, and 30.4 percent at the peak in 1996.

For 12th-graders: 29.5 percent had smoked in the month before being asked, down from 31.4 percent in 2000. Their peak in the 1990s came in 1997 at 36.5 percent.

"These important declines in teen smoking did not just happen by chance," said Lloyd Johnston of the University of Michigan. "A lot of individuals and organizations have been making concerted efforts to bring down the unacceptably high rates of smoking among our youth."

The findings were reported Wednesday in the annual Monitoring the Future survey (www.monitoringthefuture.org), conducted for the government by the of University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. The report surveyed 44,300 students nationwide in grades eight, 10 and 12.

"Because the teen years are critical in the initiation of nearly all lifetime smoking habits, what happens during that developmental period is vital to the eventual health and longevity of each generation," Johnston said.

The decline in drug use was also lauded by public health officials.

"Overall, drug use among America’s teen-agers has remained level or declined for the fifth year in a row, and that’s good news. But we must remain vigilant to the threats that heroin, ecstasy, marijuana, alcohol and other dangerous drugs pose to our youth," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said in a statement.