MORE TEENS SHUN DRINKS, DRUGS

Study: Adults' Advice Has Youths Saying No

WASHINGTON -(AP)- Drug, alcohol and cigarette use among American sixth- to
12th-graders is at the lowest level in years, partly because adults are
doing more to keep 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 report by Pride Surveys 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 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 Pride Surveys.

The results, from data collected between August 2001 and 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.

"The Sept. 11 attacks sent shock waves through our nation's schools just as
kids were beginning their school year," said John Walters, director of
National Drug Control Policy. This year's report "suggests that young
Americans may be taking their lives and communities more seriously by saying
no to drugs."

The national survey was conducted at schools that contracted Pride Surveys
to question students during the 2001-02 academic year. The questionnaires
were answered, voluntarily and anonymously, by 101,882 students.

A 1998 federal law named the Atlanta-based survey as a measure of the
effectiveness of White House drug policy.

In the 2000-01 survey, the percentage of 12th-graders who used an illicit
drug in the previous 12 months had remained constant for the fifth straight
year at about 41 percent. This year's survey, however, shows a decline to 37
percent.

Kids who are warned away from drugs and encouraged to engage in
extracurricular activities are less likely to take drugs, the survey found.

Among students whose teachers warned them away from drugs "a lot," 15
percent used illicit substances. In contrast, 32 percent of students whose
teachers "never" talked to them about the subject used drugs, the survey
found.

Among kids who participated in extracurricular school programs, 17 percent
used drugs, compared with 32 percent of kids who didn't participate.

Similarly, among kids who attended religious services "a lot," 13 percent
used drugs. Among kids who "never" attended services, 36 percent used drugs.

Study author Thomas Gleaton said certain antidrug campaigns resulted in a
decrease in drug use.

In Ohio, for example, Pride Surveys found that nine of 10 students in grades
six, eight, 10 and 12 said they have seen and heard antidrug commercials
within the previous three months. To read the report: www.pridesurveys.com .