TEEN DRUG USE ON DECLINE, STUDY FINDS

U-M Researchers Say 9/11 Has A Sobering Effect

The number of teenagers smoking cigarettes across the country dropped
sharply last year, as more teens embraced the fact that smoking is bad for
their health, according to a University of Michigan study released Monday.

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, also seem to have had a sobering
effect -- causing some teens to view life more seriously -- with fewer teens
reporting they are smoking, drinking alcohol or using illicit drugs,
according to U-M's Monitoring the Future study of 44,000 students in the
eighth, 10th and 12th grade in 400 high schools across the country.

The study is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and has tracked
substance abuse among teens for 28 years.

The end of advertisements featuring characters such as Joe Camel,
antismoking educational campaigns, bad publicity for the tobacco industry
and the higher cost of cigarettes have contributed to a change in teens'
attitudes about cigarette smoking, said Lloyd Johnston, a researcher at
U-M's Institute for Social Research and principal investigator for the
study.

Stephanie Bens, a freshman at Huron High School in Ann Arbor, has seen her
parents struggling to quit smoking and says she does not want to start.

"None of my friends smoke," said Bens, 14, of Ann Arbor. "We talk about how
bad it is. I don't want to get hooked on it."

Although Alex Walters, a sophomore at Huron High, has friends who smoke, he
says he avoids it because he is an athlete.

"I've seen my friends smoke and it slows them down in sports," said Walters,
15, of Ann Arbor. "I also know there are health risks."

Smoking also has created social liability for teens, as about 50 percent of
those surveyed said they don't like being around smokers. And 75 percent of
teens surveyed said they prefer to date a nonsmoker, Johnston said.

The study also found:

* Among eighth-graders, those saying they smoked in the last 30 days fell
from a peak of 21 percent in 1996 to 11 percent this year.

* Among 10th-graders, the numbers of those who smoked in the last 30 days
declined from 30 percent in 1996 to 17 percent this year.

* Among 12th-graders, the 30-day smoking numbers fell from 34 percent in
1996 to 26 percent this year.

"I cannot overemphasize how important these developments are to the health
and longevity of this generation of young people," Johnston said.

Drinking among teens also has dropped in the last year. Among
eighth-graders, those reporting drinking anytime in the last year fell to 38
percent from 42 percent, according to the study. Among 10th-graders, the
rate fell to 60 percent from 63 percent, and among 12th-graders, the rate
fell to 71 percent from 73 percent.

"The events of Sept. 11 have impacted at least some teens," Johnston said.
"It put them in a more serious frame of mind. Maybe it helped some, at
least, clarify what is important to them."

The Monitoring the Future study can be found at www.monitoringthefuture.org