DRUGS LOSING ALLURE AMONG TEENS

NEW YORK -- Teen-agers' drug use is leveling off amid growing evidence
that America's youth, who once viewed drugs as almost a rite of
passage, now view them as uncool, according to the annual survey by
the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

The 12th survey of U.S. teen-agers, released today, found that 40
percent of those questioned felt "really cool" teens did not use drugs
- -- an increase of 5 percent from last year.

Among 13- to 15-year-olds, only 8 percent believed marijuana smokers
were popular, down from 13 percent last year and 17 percent in 1997,
the survey found.

"The tide appears to be turning," said Partnership chairman James E.
Burke. "Across the board, teen-agers are disassociating drugs from
critically important badges of teen identity."

But Burke said the war against drugs was far from over: "It's too
early to declare a major turnaround in drug-related attitudes and drug use."

The survey found other evidence that the role of drugs in teen culture
was dissipating:

* Thirty-five percent of teens felt that "most people will try
marijuana sometime"; that figure was 40 percent a year ago.

* The number of teens agreeing with the statement "it seems like
marijuana is everywhere these days" dropped to 48 percent this year,
from 52 percent last year and 59 percent in 1997.

* While 48 percent of teens last year felt musicians made drug use
look tempting, that figure was down to 42 percent this year.

* Trial use of marijuana, inhalants, methamphetamine, LSD, cocaine and
crack were all down. The dropoff in cocaine and crack trial use was
the first since 1993.

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, launched in 1987, is a
nonprofit coalition of communications industry professionals aimed at
reducing the demand for illegal drugs.

Its latest survey questioned 6,529 teens aged 13 to 18 nationwide. The
survey's margin of error is plus or minus 1.8 percent.