TEENS' USE OF DRUGS DECLINES, SURVEY FINDS

Prevention Campaigns Get Credit As Abuse Drops For Second Year

WASHINGTON - Teen-agers are increasingly shunning illegal drugs, with
reported use falling for the second year in a row, the government said
yesterday.

Though more young adults are reporting drug use, federal health officials
and interest groups said a survey shows that anti-drug messages are
beginning to nip lifelong abuse in the bud.

"It's going to go down again for sure next year," Barry R. McCaffrey,
President Clinton's drug policy adviser, said of teen drug use.

"These prevention and education programs are working."

The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse was released by McCaffrey and
Donna E. Shalala, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

In the survey, 9 percent of 12-to-17-year-olds questioned said they had
used an illegal drug such as marijuana or heroin within the previous month.

That is down from 9.9 percent who said they did so in 1998 and 11.4 percent
in 1997.

At the news conference, Shalala repeatedly stressed a deep downward trend
from 1997 through 1999, calling it "a statistically significant decline."

Use of illegal drugs among young adults, 18 to 25 years old, continued its
steady rise, according to the household survey of 67,000 people ages 12 and
older.

"None of us can afford to let down our guard in the fight against drug,
tobacco and alcohol abuse, especially when it comes to our children,"
Clinton said.

He urged Congress to fund his administration's substance abuse and
treatment programs when it returns from its recess next week.

According to the survey, illicit drug use among 18-to-25-year-olds climbed
from 14.7 percent in 1997 to 18.8 percent last year.

The survey also tracked tobacco and alcohol use among teen-agers, on the
premise that such youths would also use illegal drugs.

McCaffrey cautioned that there is not a statistically provable relationship
but said parents need to be aware that if their children use tobacco or
alcohol, that can be an entry to drug use.

McCaffrey said his office's drug prevention message has focused on tobacco
and alcohol "since the day I got here." He said the $200 million media
campaign in 11 languages is getting results.

Groups bent on trying to curb use of illegal drugs said there's still more
work to do.

"While the downturn in teen drug use shows that prevention and education
efforts help deter our youth from substance abuse, even greater long-term
success could be achieved if treatment programs had more support," said
David Lewis, project director for Physician Leadership on National Drug
Policy, an advocacy group.

This year the survey also provided results for individual states.

Teen drug use was more prevalent in the Southwest, Great Plains and
Northeast. For all age groups, drug use was most common in the West and
parts of Appalachia and New England.