*This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 
1993.04.13 :  National High School Senior Survey on Drug Abuse

Contact:  Mona W. Brown
Karen Rogich NIDA Press Office (301) 443-6245
April 13, 1993

       Cocaine and other drug use continues to decline among high
school seniors, according to an annual survey released today by
the Department of Health and Human Services.  But in spite of the
declines among older students, eighth graders in 1992 reported
higher rates of illicit drug use than did eighth graders in 
1991. 
And the report shows continued problems with alcohol abuse by
this age group.
       The findings are included in the 1992 Monitoring the
Future Survey, also known as the National High School Senior
Survey on Drug Abuse.  The survey, conducted among high school
seniors annually since 1975, was expanded in 1991 to include
eighth and 10th graders.   "We see continued improvement among
high school seniors, but we need to be sure that younger students
are still learning the facts about drug and alcohol abuse," said
HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala.  "As each new generation of
students is about to enter high school, they need to understand
that alcohol and other drug abuse can put their futures and their
very lives at stake."
       Among the graduating class of 1992, 40.7 percent said they
had used an illicit drug at least once at some point in their
lifetime, down from 44.1 percent in the class of 1991 and
dramatically down from a peak of 65.6 percent reported by the
class of 1981.

** NOTE:  All changes noted between 1991 and 1992 are
          statistically significant.

       Some 6.1 percent of seniors in the class of 1992 said they
had used cocaine at least once in their lifetime, down from 7.8
percent in the class of 1991 and down from a peak of 17.3 percent
in the class of 1985.  Among 10th graders, lifetime cocaine use
decreased from 4.1 percent in 1991 to 3.3 percent in *This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 
1992.  Among
eighth graders, however, lifetime use of cocaine increased from
2.3 percent in 1991 to 2.9 percent in 1992, and past-year use
increased from 1.1 percent to 1.5 percent.
       Rates of marijuana use decreased among 12th graders but
increased among eighth graders.  Marijuana use among 10th graders
generally remained level. 
       Lifetime marijuana use among seniors decreased from 36.7
percent in 1991 to 32.6 percent in *This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 
1992.  Annual use decreased
from 23.9 percent in 1991 to 21.9 percent in 1992 and current use
(use within 30 days prior to the survey) decreased from 13.8
percent to 11.9 percent.
       Among eighth graders, lifetime use of marijuana increased
from 10.2 percent in 1991 to 11.2 percent in 1992, and annual use
increased from 6.2 percent to 7.2 percent.
       Experimentation with inhalants among adolescents continues
to be unacceptably high.  Approximately 17 percent of students at
each grade level have tried inhalants at least once in their
lifetime.  Use of inhalants within the past year decreased as the
students got older, unlike the case for other drugs.  While 4.7
percent of eighth graders reported current use of inhalants, only
2.3 percent of seniors reported current use.  
       Current use of LSD among 10th and 12th grade students
remained around 2 percent.  Among eighth graders, however,
lifetime use of LSD increased from 2.7 percent in 1991 to 3.2
percent in 1992, annual use increased from 1.7 percent to 2.1
percent and current use increased from 0.6 percent to 0.9
percent.
       There was a decrease in the percentage of 10th and 12th
graders who reported alcohol use within the past 30 days.  Still,
more than 27.9 percent of seniors, 21.1 percent of 10th graders,
and 13.4 percent of eighth graders reported binge drinking --
five or more drinks in a row -- within the two weeks before the
survey.
       "These contrasting findings among eighth graders' use of a
range of substances, as compared to the prevalence rates among
10th and 12th graders, are troubling," said Richard A. Millstein,
acting director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.  "This
recent cohort of students -- whose average age is 13 -- may
represent a reversal of previously improving conditions among
teen-agers.  These findings underscore the need to continue our
research efforts to learn more about the negative health
consequences associated with drug abuse and to transmit research-
based information about the dangers of drugs as the cornerstone
of effective education and prevention programs."  
       After peaking in the late 1970s, current cigarette smoking
among high school seniors has remained level, at around 28-30
percent since 1980.  In 1992, 17.2 percent of seniors, 12.3
percent of 10th graders, and 7.0 percent of eighth graders
reported daily smoking; and 10.0 percent, 6.0 percent and 2.9
percent, respectively, reported smoking at least a half-pack of
cigarettes per day.
       Other findings from the 1992 survey include:
       Perceived harmfulness of drugs:  Fewer eighth graders in
1992 associated great risk of harm with occasional cocaine or
crack cocaine use than did eighth graders in 
1991.  There was
also a decrease in the proportion of 10th graders saying there is
great risk of harm with occasional cocaine use.  But there was an
increase among students at all three grade levels who thought
that taking steroids could cause great risk of harm.  

       Perceived availability of drugs:  High school seniors
reported increased availability of LSD, crack cocaine, heroin and
amyl and butyl nitrites between 1991 and *This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 
1992.  Similarly, eighth
graders reported increased availability of cocaine, crack cocaine
and marijuana.  There were no changes in perceived availability
of drugs reported by 10th graders.

       NIDA is a component of the National Institutes of Health,
a Public Health Service agency within the Department of Health
and Human Services.  The Monitoring the Future Survey was
conducted under a NIDA grant to the University of Michigan,
Institute for Social Research, at a cost of approximately $3
million.  Under the direction of Dr. Lloyd Johnston, principal
investigator, the researchers surveyed 16,251 high school
seniors, 14,997 10th grade students, and 19,015 eighth grade
students in public and private schools nationwide in *This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 
1992.   


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