STATE'S YOUTH SNUB SMOKING, DRUGS

IU Survey Credits Prevention Plans

INDIANAPOLIS -- Hoosier youths are smoking less, drinking less and taking
fewer illicit drugs than they have in years, according to an Indiana
University survey released yesterday.

Prevention programs get the credit, said Barbara Joan Seitz de Martinez,
deputy director of the Indiana Prevention Resource Center, which conducted
the survey. She called the findings "fantastic."

"We were pleasantly surprised at the extent of the progress we've made with
our prevention efforts. We've been working hard," she said. "I think the
comprehensive approach that includes strategies across the community,
involving different sectors of the community, is working."

About 435 schools administered the 15th annual survey to 136,782 students
in grades six through 12 in April. The margins of error varied from
question to question, but generally were a fraction of 1 percentage point.

The results showed:

Alcohol use has experienced the strongest decline. All grades, except
seniors, showed decreases of at least 2 percentage points from the previous
year. Also, binge drinking among students in grades six through nine declined.

The use of inhalants went down or remained flat among all grades. However,
more younger students said they had tried inhalants than those in upper
grades, a trend that needs scrutiny, researchers said.

Figures for middle-schoolers -- grades six through eight -- were in the 3
to 4 percent range for monthly use. In each case, those figures were down
from the previous year.

The use of methamphetamine at least monthly is higher in Indiana than it is
nationally. However, fewer young Hoosiers overall have tried meth.

Cigarette smoking has dropped in all grades.

IU experts said the lower smoking rates are especially important because
tobacco is a so-called "gateway" that increases the likelihood that a
youngster will try other drugs.

Miranda Spitznagle, director of program evaluation at Indiana Tobacco
Prevention & Cessation, said the IU survey results mirror the trends in the
agency's own studies.

"The data continues to show that youth tobacco rates are the lowest they've
ever been," she said. "We're really making progress."

The survey found that, over the past decade, daily smoking rates have
dropped more than 10 percent among high school seniors and more than 12
percent among juniors. The rate of smoking at least half a pack a day fell
among all age groups an average of 1.8 percent in just one year, the survey
showed. Youths take a stand

Spitznagle said young people are making that happen.

"They have their own movement," she said. "It's called VOICE. It's Indiana
youth speaking out against big tobacco."

Deonne Archie, 17, a recent graduate of New Albany High School, smoked for
a few months when she was a sophomore. Then she learned about VOICE and
quit, she said.

Now she's a leader in the local program and isn't surprised to hear that
the smoking rate is declining.

"Right now, smoking isn't cool," Deonne said. "The majority of people in my
school did not smoke. Some did and they hid it. It made you look dumb if
you smoked."

Prevention and awareness programs -- those aimed at children and at
retailers -- have helped reduce underage alcohol consumption, said Stephen
King, director of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute's drug and crime
control division.

He pointed to a "serve kids, serve time" campaign conducted recently by the
institute. It reminded package stores and bars about the law against
selling alcohol to those younger than 21 and the penalties if they were
caught. It also encouraged those retailers to check IDs for buyers who
might be too young.

He said a law passed two years ago that requires kegs to be registered and
tracked is also helping.

"It's making retail outlets and vendors more cognizant of the fact that
they are facing possible sanctions if they do violate laws," King said.
Alcohol falls

The survey found that 8.1 percent of sixth-graders reported using alcohol
at least monthly. That's less than half the number who reported drinking
that often in 1991, the year of the first survey.

Nearly 42 percent of high school seniors said they used alcohol monthly, a
small reduction from last year and a drop from nearly 60 percent in 1991.
Nationally, about 48 percent of seniors drink at least monthly, according
to the IU researchers.

The IU survey also found that monthly marijuana use is down slightly among
seniors, at just less than 18 percent. Their use of narcotics and LSD also
has been trending down slightly.

But the monthly use of cocaine, crack and heroin has remained largely
unchanged among seniors, the survey showed. The highest figure, 2.9
percent, was for cocaine.

For the first time, the survey questioned students about their use of
methamphetamine, a highly addictive drug sometimes made in small labs in
homes, barns and cars.

The survey showed that 5.5 percent of seniors reported they had tried meth
at least once. That's slightly less than the national average of 6.2
percent, according to researchers.

However, 1.7 percent of seniors said they used meth at least monthly, which
is slightly higher than the national average of 1.4 percent.

Laura Fleming Balmer, executive director of the Clark County Youth Center,
a residential program for troubled youths, said she's pleased that IU added
the meth question because she's seeing more children suffer from
meth-related problems.

"That's probably the largest growing area of concern," she said.
Self-reporting drops

But the youth center counselors have witnessed a decrease in the
self-reporting of other drug, alcohol and tobacco use among youths living
there.

Balmer estimated that more than half of the 300 or so youths the center
serves have tried drugs or alcohol at least once. But the she said they are
less likely to report continued use than in the past.

Balmer, who serves on the steering committee for the Clark County Youth
Coalition, said she credits prevention efforts with keeping area children
off drugs. The coalition provides grants to organizations that work on
those programs.

"There are more programs than we used to have," said Balmer, who has worked
with the coalition for 10 years. "There's a larger variety of programs that
are changing with the ever-changing needs of the community."