SUBSTANCE USE DOWN IN LUCAS COUNTY

When it comes to smoking cigarettes and drinking, more Lucas County
youths are saying "no" than at any time in the last 14 years according
to a countywide survey to be released today.

Use of marijuana and other drugs also continue to decline.

"I think overall, it's good news," said Nick Piazza, a University of
Toledo professor who was co-author of the survey. "We continue to see
a gradual decline. Cigarette smoking is down, and that tends to be the
flagship drug. As it goes down, it tends to pull everything else with
it."

Mr. Piazza said usage rates for the "big three" problem areas of
alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana - by far the most popular substances
abused by youths - are for the most part promising. Use of tobacco and
marijuana are at the lowest levels since the survey began in 1990.
Alcohol use ticked up slightly but is still relatively steady.

The percentage of seniors who reported they smoked cigarettes in the
month previous to being surveyed was 25.8 percent, down from 29.2
percent in 2002 and 42.4 percent in 1996. Marijuana use among seniors
in the previous month went from a high of 30.1 percent in 1996 to 25.8
percent in 2002, and was 23.1 percent this year.

Alcohol use in the previous month among seniors went up from 52.4
percent in 2002 to 55.6 percent this year. The highest year was 1996,
when 59.8 percent of seniors reported drinking in the previous month.

Though recent anti-drug efforts have not resembled the 1980s "Just Say
No" campaigns, Mr. Piazza said similar messages about drugs' harmful
effects are working.

Or, maybe it's just because drugs are gross.

"When you play sports and stuff it [drugs] just messes you up." said
Kim Juhnke, 14, who was shopping yesterday with her friend Brittany
Boyne, also 14, at Westfield Shoppingtown Franklin Park Mall. Both
teens attend St. Ursula Academy.

"And smoking smells and it makes your teeth yellow," Brittany added.
"It's more of a turnoff."

Though thrilled with the continued decline in drug usage, most
anti-drug officials in Lucas County urged parents and others not to
become complacent.

"Substance abuse was very high during the 'Just Say No' decade of
Nancy Reagan. We did a lot of promotion of the harmfulness of drugs
and it reached an all-time low in about 1990," said Bill Ivoska, vice
president of student services at Owens Community College and the other
author of the survey. "Then society got complacent and we stopped our
efforts and rates skyrocketed. We had all-time highs in 1996 and 1998.
We need to stay vigilant."

Deacon Dzierzawski, executive director of the anti-drug group Lucas
County Community Partnership, agreed.

"There's always a concern that people will think the job is done," he
said. "But that's like saying traffic accidents are down, so we no
longer need drivers ed."

Every two years since 1990, the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services
Board of Lucas County has commissioned the survey. The results are
considered quite accurate because almost every student - public and
private - in grades five through 12 in the county is surveyed. A total
of 34,459 students were surveyed this year.

Though the trends were largely positive, Mr. Dzierzawski said there
were some potential problems.

Of seniors surveyed this year, 6.1 percent said they tried cocaine in
the last year, up from 5.3 percent in 2002. Inhalant abuse, which
includes substances such as glue, gasoline, and aerosol spray
propellants, also went up slightly for high school students surveyed.

Binge drinking, defined as drinking four or more alcoholic beverages
at one sitting, also increased. Of seniors surveyed, 42.7 percent said
they had binge drunk in the previous month, up from 39.7 percent in
2002.

Mr. Ivoska said the results also remind parents to start early when
educating their children about drugs and alcohol. For example, this
year 18.7 percent of sixth grade students reported drinking in the
previous year. But 28.4 percent of seventh graders, and 40.8 percent
of eighth graders reported drinking, meaning the percentages increase
rapidly at relatively young ages.

Mr. Ivoska and Mr. Piazza said few counties in the country have such
reliable information available. The survey work has caught the
attention of at least one other area county. Wood County, with Mr.
Ivoska's assistance, conducted a similar survey for the first time
this year.

The Lucas County results are similar to national figures. The
University of Michigan conducts a national survey on drug and alcohol
use among teens on behalf of the federal government. The Lucas County
survey, which costs about $32,000 and is funded by the Alcohol and
Drug Addiction Services Board and the Toledo Police Department, uses
many of the same questions as the University of Michigan survey.

In December, the university reported that smoking and drinking rates
dropped across the country. For example, the university's national
survey found that 24 percent of 12th graders asked in 2003 said they
smoked in the previous month, down from a high of 36.5 percent in
1997. The national survey found that 48 percent of 12th graders said
they had drunk alcohol in the previous month.