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Date: Wednesday, Aug. 6, 1997
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:  SAMHSA Press Office (301) 443-8956

Overall Drug Use Levels Stay the Same; Possible Decrease in Youth Drug Use

While the rate of marijuana use by teens remained statistically unchanged from last year's survey, falling very slightly from 8.2 percent to 7.1 percent, the decline indicates a possible shift in the trend that has seen marijuana use by teens double from 1992 to 1995.

"These findings on teen drug use offer a glimmer of hope, but they also remind us that we cannot rest in our efforts against drugs," said HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala. "Every new class of middle schoolers and every new generation of high school students needs to hear and understand for themselves that drugs are illegal, dangerous and wrong."

The survey also shows that while tobacco and alcohol use by teens continues to be high, there have been improvements. For example, alcohol use among 12- to 17-year-olds declined significantly from 21.1 percent in 1995 to 18.8 percent in 1996. In addition, the rate of smokeless tobacco has declined significantly from 2.8 percent in 1995 to 1.9 percent in 1996. "Here again, we cannot waver in our efforts to stop teens from engaging in these risky behaviors," Shalala said. "We need to send a strong message to young people that smoking and drinking are dangerous to their health."

White House National Drug Policy Director Barry McCaffrey said, "This survey has some tentative good news. Marijuana, the primary drug abused by youth, may show signs of leveling off. While there is a slight drop in youth drug use, every cabinet member in the Administration is committed to working to make this more than a short-term development. However, although marijuana use has dropped a bit, we remain concerned that cocaine may be inching back up, and heroin use is definitely increasing. "Overall drug use in America has fallen by half in 15 years. However, drugs are a sustained threat to our young people. That is why the President's budget increases funding by 21 percent for the number one goal of the National Drug Control Strategy B to educate and enable America's youth to reject illegal drugs as well as alcohol and tobacco. We are particularly pleased that a key component of this effort, the proposed $175 million youth drug prevention national media campaign, is moving successfully in Congress."

Among the findings of concern in the 12- to 17-year-old age group are that more teenagers are trying heroin for the first time; that children's perception of cocaine as risky is down; and that the use of some drugs, such as hallucinogens, continues an upward trend.

Secretary Shalala and Director McCaffrey highlighted HHS' new "Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Initiative." The cornerstone of the initiative is new state incentive grants for community-based action. In partnership with HHS, governors are developing comprehensive strategies for youth substance abuse prevention in their states. State plans must account for all federal and state funding streams in the state, identify gaps and propose how resources can be brought together and used in a sustained strategic way to reduce youth substance abuse.

Dr. Nelba Chavez, Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the lead agency for HHS' Youth Initiative said, "We are working with other federal agencies, states, communities, families, corporate America and the health care industry to bring all the nation's resources to bear on creating an environment where America's youth refuse to use illicit drugs as well as alcohol and tobacco. Our past work has shown prevention programs should target all forms of drug abuse, including the use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs."

Shalala and McCaffrey noted that Congress has recognized that drug use is a significant American problem, which will require a bipartisan effort to achieve the goals of the National Drug Control Strategy. In most areas, the President's budget request has been met for HHS anti-drug abuse research, prevention and treatment program priorities by relevant Congressional committees. However, Shalala and McCaffrey called on Congress to fully fund the expansion of the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. The expansion will help provide measurable outcomes to track the success of anti-drug efforts. They also urged Congress to fully fund the President's request for a national advertising campaign through ONDCP to give children the hard facts about drugs.

The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, which is conducted by SAMHSA, annually provides estimates of the prevalence of illicit drug, alcohol, and tobacco use in the U.S. and monitors the trends in use over time. It is based on a representative sample of the U.S. population aged 12 and older, including persons living in households and in some group quarters such as dormitories and homeless shelters. In 1996, a sample of 18,269 persons was interviewed for the survey. Additional findings:

Tobacco

• An estimated 62 million Americans were current smokers, including 4.1 million adolescents aged 12-17. This represents a national smoking rate of 29 percent.
• Youths age 12-17 who currently smoked cigarettes were about nine times as likely to use illicit drugs and 16 times as likely to drink heavily as non-smoking youths.

• There were about 9 million current alcohol (including beer, wine, and distilled spirits) drinkers under age 21 in 1996. Of these, 4.4 million were binge drinkers, including 1.9 million heavy drinkers.

• In 1996, an estimated 10.1 million Americans were current (past month) marijuana or hashish users. This represents 4.7 percent of the population aged 12 and older.
• Marijuana is by far the most prevalent drug used by illicit drug users. Approximately three-quarters (77 percent) of current illicit drug users were marijuana or hashish users in 1996.

• The number of occasional cocaine users (people who used in the past year but on fewer than 12 days) was 2.6 million in 1996, similar to what it was in 1995. The number of users was down significantly from 1985, when it was 7.1 million.

• The rate of current use of hallucinogens among youth age 12-17 has nearly doubled in two years (1.1 percent in 1994, 1.7 percent in 1995, and 2.0 percent in 1996). However, the increase from 1995 to 1996 was not statistically significant in and of itself.

• There were an estimated 141,000 new heroin users in 1995, and there has been an increasing trend in new heroin use since 1992. A large proportion of these recent new users were smoking, snorting, or sniffing heroin, and most were under age 26. The rate of heroin initiation for the age group 12-17 reached historic levels.

• There was no change in perceived risk of marijuana use among youths 12-17 between 1994 and 1996. The perceived risk of harm increased from 1985 to 1990, then decreased from 1990 to 1994. This trend in perceived risk usually mirrors or foreshadows the trend in the use of marijuana among youths.
• The percent of youths 12-17 reporting great risk in using cocaine once a month decreased from 63 percent in 1994 to 54 percent in 1996.
• More than half of youths age 12-17 reported that marijuana was easy to obtain in 1996, and about one-quarter reported that heroin was easy to obtain. Fifteen percent of youths reported being approached by someone selling drugs in the month prior to the interview.