FEWER YOUTHS DRINK, SMOKE

WASHINGTON - Drug, alcohol and cigarette use among sixth-to 12th-graders is
at the lowest level in years, partly because adults are doing more to keep
their kids away from illicit substances, according to a survey released
Wednesday.

Parents and teachers are warning students about drug use and encouraging
kids to nurture other interests by joining extracurricular school and
religious activities, the 2001-02 Pride Survey said.

The percentage of students using any illicit drug - including marijuana,
cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and others - dropped to 22.3 percent, the
lowest level registered by the study since the 1993-94 school year.

The percentages of high school students who said they drank alcohol (65
percent) or smoked cigarettes (36 percent) in the previous 12 months were
the lowest in the 15-year history of the Pride Surveys.

The data, collected from August 2001 to last month, are the "best report on
adolescent behaviors in over a decade" and may reflect a cultural reaction
to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, officials said.