TEEN DRUG USE UP, SCHOOL VIOLENCE DOWN - CDC

ATLANTA (Reuters) - The percentage of American high school students
who use cocaine or have tried marijuana rose significantly during the
1990s, but fewer teenagers brought weapons to school or got into
fights, federal health officials said on Thursday.

A 1999 survey of 15,349 teenagers in grades nine through 12 found that
half had at least one drink of alcohol, 35 percent had smoked
cigarettes, 27 percent had smoked marijuana and four percent tried
cocaine in the month before the survey.

One third of the students had 5 or more drinks of alcohol at least
once, according to the confidential survey, conducted every two years
by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Figures for cocaine and marijuana use were higher than those from a
1993 study, the CDC said.

``While we are making progress in many areas, too many high school
students are still practicing behaviors that place them at risk for
unnecessary health, education and social problems,'' said Laura Kann
of the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health.

Kann, however, noted the percentage of students who had been involved
in a physical fight decreased to 36 percent in 1999 from 43 percent
early in the decade. Seventeen percent had carried a weapon such as a
gun, knife or club in the 30 days before the 1999 survey, a 34-percent
decrease from 1991.

Half the students had engaged in sexual intercourse and 16 percent
said they had already experienced four or more sexual partners,
according to the survey. Fifty-eight percent used a condom during
their last intercourse, up 26 percent from 1991.

``We remain concerned at the percentage of high school students that
are practicing behaviors that will place them at risk for serious
injury, sexually transmitted diseases and chronic diseases later in
life, such as cancer and heart disease,'' Kann said.

The CDC said 10 percent of the students were overweight and only 35
percent engaged in vigorous physical activity for at least 20 minutes
at least three days a week. The number of students who never or rarely
wore seatbelts declined 37 percent between 1991 and 1999.

``There is reason to feel optimistic about many of the trends in risk
behaviors among our young people. However, we have much left to do,''
CDC director Dr. Jeffrey Koplan said in a statement.

Other findings of the survey:

- -- 33 percent of teens had ridden in the past month with a driver who
had been drinking alcohol.

- -- 15 percent had used inhalants during their lifetime and 9 percent
had used methamphetamines.

- -- 71 percent did not participate in a daily physical education class.