FINDINGS SHOW DECREASE IN USE OF MOST DRUGS BY AMERICAN YOUTH

Smoking is declining sharply among American teens. That's good news on an
important public health front, and it's thanks to ongoing national efforts,
experts say.

A report also disclosed that the recent sharp increases in the use of the
drug Ecstasy are slowing, heroin use decreased, notably among 10th- and
12th-graders, and a gradual decline in the use of inhalants continued in 2001.

Decreases in cigarette smoking were observed for eighth-, 10th- and
12th-graders.

"These important declines in teen smoking did not just happen by chance,"
said Lloyd Johnston of the University of Michigan. "A lot of individuals
and organizations have been making concerted efforts to bring down the
unacceptably high rates of smoking among our youth.

For eighth-graders: Some 12.2 percent of eighth-graders reported smoking in
the 30 days before they were surveyed, down from 14.6 percent the year
before. The peak in the 1990s was 21 percent in 1996.

For 10th-graders: The survey found 21.3 percent had smoked in the last 30
days, down from 23.9 percent the year before and 30.4 percent, also in 1996.

For 12th-graders: 29.5 percent had smoked in the past month. That was down
from 31.4 percent in 2000. Their peak in the 1990s came in 1997 at 36.5
percent.

The findings were reported Wednesday in the annual Monitoring the Future
survey conducted for the government by the University of Michigan's
Institute for Social Research. The report surveyed 44,300 students
nationwide in grades eight, 10 and 12.

Ann Houston, spokeswoman for the N.C. Tobacco Prevention and Control
Branch, welcomed the news and hoped it will hold true for North Carolina
when the state's own survey is released next spring.

"We've only seen it (the teen-smoking rate) going up the last six or eight
years," she said. "We haven't even seen a leveling off, much less a
decline, so we've got our fingers crossed."

She said the states that have shown teen smoking declines, such as Florida
and Massachusetts, have developed multimillion-dollar comprehensive
programs, including statewide youth movements and media campaigns.

"We would love to see declines in North Carolina, but we may not be able to
make a dent in teen smoking until we really put the necessary resources in
to fund comprehensive programs in every school system and every community."

"Because the teen years are critical in the initiation of nearly all
lifetime smoking habits, what happens during that developmental period is
vital to the eventual health and longevity of each generation," said
Johnston, the Michigan researcher.

The decline in drug use was also lauded by public-health officials.

"Overall, drug use among America's teen-agers has remained level or
declined for the fifth year in a row, and that's good news. But we must
remain vigilant to the threats that heroin, Ecstasy, marijuana, alcohol and
other dangerous drugs pose to our youth," U.S. Health and Human Services
Secretary Tommy Thompson said in a statement.

Thompson added that "the finding that fewer teen-agers are smoking is very
encouraging as more teens are making smart choices that will help them
avoid tobacco-related health threats."

Glen Hanson, acting director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse,
added: "We hope that our concerted effort to give adolescents science-based
information about the health risks of Ecstasy and other drugs will
contribute to a further reduction in the use of these drugs." John Walters,
director of National Drug Control Policy, characterized the findings as
"good news-bad news."

The explosive increases in drug use seen in the early 1990s have stopped,
he said, but still too many people use illegal drugs.

"It's time to make the anti-drug effort catch up to the anti-tobacco
effort," he said.

Alcohol remains the most popular drug with teens, though a slight reduction
was reported in 2001.

Some 79.7 percent of 12th-graders said they had used alcohol at some point,
down from 80.3 percent and the year before. But the share who admitted to
having been drunk at some time rose from 62.3 percent to 63.9 percent.

For 10th-graders, 70.1 percent admitted some alcohol use, down from 71.4
percent. The share who said they had been drunk fell from 49.3 percent to
48.2 percent.

And for eighth-graders, 50.5 percent had had a drink, down from 51.7
percent, and those who had been drunk declined from 25.1 percent to 23.4
percent.

The survey covered students in 424 public and private schools in the 48
contiguous states.

Among other survey findings:

Marijuana: 49.0 percent of 12th-graders had used it at some time, up from
48.8 percent the year before; 10th grade, 40.1 percent, down from 40.3;
eighth grade, 20.4 percent, up from 20.3.

Inhalants: 12th grade, 13.0 percent, down from 14.2; 10th grade, 15.2
percent, down from 16.6; eighth grade, 17.1 percent, down from 17.9.

Hallucinogens: 12th grade, 12.8 percent, down from 13.0; 10th grade, 7.8
percent, down from 8.9; eighth grade, 4.0 percent, down from 4.6.

LSD: 12th grade, 10.9 percent, down from 11.1; 10th grade, 6.3 percent,
down from 7.6; eighth grade, 3.4 percent, down from 3.9.

Cocaine: 12th grade, 8.2 percent, down from 8.6; 10th grade, 5.7 percent,
down from 6.9; 8th grade, 4.3 percent, down from 4.5.

Heroin: 12th grade, 1.8 percent, down from 2.4; 10th grade, 1.7 percent,
down from 2.2; eighth grade, 1.8 percent, down from 1.9.