Teens: Less Smoking, More Pill-Popping
December 27, 2005
Teenage Americans are smoking less but taking many more prescription painkillers, according to a survey undertaken in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The survey was conducted by the University of Michigan and reported by MedPage Today on 21 December 2005.
Results showed that, although cigarette smoking and alcohol intake had decreased among school students in the 8th, 10th and 12th grades to the lowest levels since 1975, the in which Monitoring the Future (an ongoing research project) began recording these data.
Smoking among seniors in the 30 days prior to the survey dropped from 25% in 2004 to 23.2% in 2005. Similarly, drinking alcohol in the same time-period dropped from 70.6% in 2004 to 68.6% in 2005.
However, the opposite trend held for prescription drug use: OxyContin (oxycodone) use rose 26% since 2002 for all three grades combined, and sedative use (including barbiturates) also rose among seniors - rising to 7.2% in 2003 from 2.8% in 1992.
The use of inhalants is also increasing - rising 0.9% in 2005 among seniors but remaining unchanged for 8th- and 10th-graders. In 2002, inhalant use dropped to 7.2% but in 2003 rose to 8.7% and has not changed since then.
Interpreting the Results
"We believe that the greater proportional declines in previous years in the lower grades are now being 'echoed' in the upper graders, as those younger adolescents age and enter the upper grades," said Lloyd Johnston, PhD, a senior research scientist at the University of Michigan, to MedPage Today.
However, he warns that, despite these gains, "there remains plenty of room for improvement."
The results of the survey suggest successes in some areas, as well as cause for concern.
"While cigarette smoking is at lowest levels in the history of the survey and overall drug use among teens and adolescents is continuing to decline, there remain areas of concern with specific drugs of abuse such as prescription painkillers," Nora D Volkow, MD, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said to MedPage Today.
"Prescription drugs are very powerful medicines that are effective when used properly and with a doctor's supervision. Using these drugs without a prescription is dangerous."
Study investigators noted that easy access to prescription painkillers, coupled with the fact that such drugs are legal and are therefore perceived as safe, may be contributing to increased use.
Dr Volkow also observed that that a cultural shift has occurred, in which today's teens have grown up in an environment where prescription drugs such as Ritalin (methyphenidate) are commonly used to "get through daily life," according to MedPage Today.
Survey Details
The survey included 49,347 students in 8th, 10th and 12th grades who attended private or public schools around the US.
Key findings of the survey were:
A rise in the use of prescription drugs. In 2005, 9.5% of seniors reported using Vicodin (hydrocodone and acetaminophen), up from 9.3% in 2004. Similarly, use of OxyContin rose to 5.0% in 2004 from 5.5% in 2005 -continuing an increasing trend since 2002, when reported use was 4.0%.
A decrease in lifetime illicit-drug use for all three grades- e.g., among 8th graders, the decline was from 26.8% in 2000 to 21.5% in 2005, and the trend among 10th- and 12thgraders showed similar decreases.
Use of marijuana, the most commonly used illicit drug, decreased from 18.3% in 1996 to 12.2% in 2005 among 8th-graders, but the trend plateaued in 2005. Slightly more than 26% of 10th-graders and 33% of seniors reported smoking marijuana in the past year.
Hallucinogens use (other than LSD) has decreased since its most recent peak, in 2001, with low rates of 2%, 3.5% and 5% among 8th-, 10th- and 12th-graders, respectively.
Use of anabolic steroids, mainly by boys to enhance athletic performances, also decreased. The most significant decrease in 2005 was a 1.1% decrease among seniors to 1.5% prevalence.
Ecstasy use continued its downward trend since 2001, with annual usage rates now 1.7%, 2.6% and 3.0% in grades 8, 10, and 12, respectively, reflecting an up to two-thirds drop from 2001 levels.
Alcohol consumption continued to decline, with 17%, 33% and 47% of 8th-, 10th and 12th-graders reporting drinking once or more in the previous 30 days. Since 1996, drinking among 8th-graders has decreased 35%; since 2000 it has decreased 19% 10th-graders, and since 1997 drinking has decreased by 11% for seniors.
For more information about drug abuse and trends among US school students, college students, and young adults, please visit:
Sources:
For
Teens, Smoking Inches Down but Pain-Pill Popping Pops Up,
MedPage Today, 21 December 2005.
Smoking down,
prescription-drug abuse up among teens, Associated Press (as
reported on MSNBC), December 2005.
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