According to the CASA report, smoking and drinking has been on a steady decline since 1997. For example, the percentage of 12th graders who drink alcohol decreased from 19 percent to 11 percent; among 10th graders, the drinking prevalence decreased from 43 percent to 29 percent.
However, more teenagers are using prescription drugs, especially painkillers OxyContin and Vicodin, and stimulants Ritalin and Adderall. The number of prescriptions written for these drugs has doubled in the past ten years.
The annual survey, which was conducted by the University of Michigan, analyzed data on 46,000 students in grades eight to 12.
Labels: abuse, prescription_drugs
Posted By: Aspen Education Group