This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.

Date: Friday, August 21, 1998                                             
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: SAMHSA Press Office (301)  443-8956

HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala today released findings of the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), showing that illicit drug use among the overall population remained flat from 1996 to 1997, but that increases occurred among young people age 12-17.

An estimated 13.9 million Americans (6.4 percent of the U.S. population age 12 and older) were "current users" of illicit drugs last year, meaning they had used an illicit drug in the month prior to the survey interview. That is not a statistically significant change from 1996 when the estimate was 13 million.

Marijuana continues to be the most frequently used illicit drug; about 60 percent of all illicit drug users reported using marijuana only, and another 20 percent reported marijuana use and some other illicit drug. The number of current illicit drug users is about half its peak in 1979, when there were 25 million current users.

For young people age 12-17, the survey found an increase in current use of drugs, primarily in marijuana use, which increased from 7.1 percent in 1996 to 9.4 percent in 1997. However, the rate of past month marijuana use among youth remains significantly lower than its peak of 14.2 percent in 1979. Importantly, there were no statistically significant increases among youth for past month use of inhalants, hallucinogens, cocaine or heroin between 1996 and 1997.

"This survey shows that our work in combating drug use must be focused on our young people," Secretary Shalala said. "It shows that abuse of one substance like marijuana often goes hand in hand with the abuse of other substances. Most of all, this survey says to me that we must work even more closely with parents."

"Parents are by far the most important factor in protecting children from substance abuse," Secretary Shalala added. "They must be a source of example and information for their children. We in government must be an ally in helping parents talk early and often with their children about the dangerous road of substance abuse."

The survey also showed that among youth age 12-17, the perceived risk of smoking marijuana once or twice a week decreased significantly between 1996 and 1997. This reflects a continuation of decline in perceived risk of marijuana use, including "once a month" use, that has occurred since 1990. The trend in perceived risk mirrors the trend in the use of marijuana among youth. As the perceived risk decreased, use increased, and vice versa. The survey notes that the perceived risk began to decline two years before use began to increase in 1992, providing an important correlate of drug use that can help explain the patterns and trends in substance use, particularly among youth.

Some 4.5 million youth 12-17 (19.9 percent) had used cigarettes in the past month in 1997. For those youth age 12-13, there was a statistically significant increase in past month cigarette use from 7.3 percent in 1996 to 9.7 percent in 1997. Among youth age 12-17, the rate of current alcohol use was about 50 percent in 1979, fell to about 21 percent in 1992, and has remained relatively stable since then. The survey also found that drug use among youths was higher among those who were currently using cigarettes and alcohol, compared with youths not using these substances.

Gen. Barry McCaffrey, director of the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy, said, "This study confirms the significant threat from illegal drugs to our children. We must face this threat head-on, which we intend to do. We embrace today's findings as further proof of the need to fully fund our National Drug Control Strategy. We must expand community coalitions and get the "no drug use" message out to children, their parents and their mentors as President Clinton's strategy requires."

"This five year, $2 billion national media campaign was successfully launched last month by President Clinton, Speaker Newt Gingrich, and the Cabinet and includes ads specifically targeted at bringing about parent-child discussions beginning at early ages. The initial response from the public has been overwhelming. Phone calls from parents and children seeking information and help from national and local hot lines have increased 121 percent."

Dr. Nelba Chavez, administrator of HHS' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which conducts the annual survey, said, "As this trend in youth substance abuse has evolved, we have forged stronger partnerships with states and communities, and redirected our efforts from narrowly focused drug prevention efforts to a more comprehensive approach that identifies and addresses family, school, and mental health problems before they lead to substance abuse and other destructive behaviors."

Recent new efforts include State Incentive Grants for Community-based Action (awarded to Governors' offices in 19 states to support statewide planning for coordinated substance abuse prevention services); Regional Center for the Application of Prevention Technology Grants (awarded to five regional centers to support state and community efforts to implement research-based, effective substance abuse prevention strategies); and Starting Early-Starting Smart grants (to examine the effectiveness of integrating substance abuse and mental health services into primary care settings and into early childhood service settings.) Beginning in the fall, SAMHSA's new Targeted Capacity Expansion Grants will assist local governments and Indian Tribal Governments to address serious, emerging drug problems at the earliest possible stages.

In addition, HHS continues its efforts to reduce marijuana use among American youth through its comprehensive Marijuana Initiative begun in 1995. As part of this initiative, HHS has funded new research on the effects of marijuana, and launched major prevention-oriented campaigns -- like the anti-marijuana campaign "Reality Check" -- to help parents educate children about the dangers of drugs. Free materials, such as "Marijuana: What Parents Need to Know," "Tips for Teens" and "Keeping Youth Drug Free" can be obtained by calling 1-800-729-6686.

SAMHSA will also expand its National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) to provide information about substance use at the state level next year. Beginning in 1999, the annual survey will support 70,000 interviews each year, up from 18,000 - 25,000 in previous years.

The NHSDA provides annual 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 1997, a sample of 24,505 persons was interviewed for the survey. Additional findings:

Illicit Drug Use

• In 1997, 11.4 percent of youth age 12 - 17 reported using illicit drugs in the past month, an increase from 9.0 percent in 1996. Except for 1996, there has been a steady increase in illicit drug use among youth since 1992.

Marijuana

In 1997, an estimated 11.1 million Americans were current (past month) marijuana/hashish users. This represents 5.1 percent of the population age 12 and older.

• In 1997, an estimated 1.5 million Americans (0.7 percent of the population age 12 and older) were current cocaine users. The number of users has not changed significantly since 1992 and is down from a peak of 5.7 million (3.0 percent of the population) in 1985.

• The estimated number of past month heroin users increased from 68,000 (less than 0.1 percent of the population) in 1993 to 325,000 (0.2 percent of the population) in 1997, similar to the 1996 level. There was no statistically significant increase among teens 12 - 17 for past month use from 1996 to 1997.

• In 1997, an estimated 64 million Americans were current smokers including 4.5 million youth ages 12 - 17. This represents a national smoking rate of 30 percent, with no overall change between 1996 and 1997.
• Youth age 12-17 who currently smoked cigarettes were about twelve times as likely to use illicit drugs and 23 times as likely to drink heavily as nonsmoking youth.

• In 1997, approximately 111 million persons age 12 and over were current alcohol users, which was about 51 percent of the total population. Of these, about 31.9 million persons (15.3 percent of the population) engaged in binge drinking, and about 11.2 million Americans (5.4 percent of the population) were heavy drinkers.

• The percentage of youth ages 12 - 17 reporting great risk from smoking marijuana once or twice a week decreased from 57 percent in 1996 to 54 percent in 1997.

• Since 1990, the percent of youth reporting great risk in using cocaine once a month decreased from 72 percent to 54 percent in 1997. There was no significant change in the percentage between 1996 and 1997.

• Among youth age 12-17, the percent reporting great risk in smoking one or more packs of cigarettes per day has steadily increased from 45 percent in 1985 to 54 percent in 1996, but remained unchanged in 1997.

Because information on when people first use substances is collected on a retrospective basis, incidence data is always one year behind information on current use.

Marijuana

• An estimated 2.5 million people started using marijuana in 1996. The rising incidence during the 1990's seems to have been fueled primarily by the increasing rate of new use among youth age 12-17, from 37 per 1,000 potential new users in 1991 to about 83 per 1,000 potential new users in 1996.

• In 1996, an estimated 171,000 persons used heroin for the first time. The rate of first-time heroin use among youth age 12-17 has increased from below 0.4 per one-thousand potential new users in 1991 to 3.9 per one-thousand potential new users in 1996.

Note: Preliminary Results from the 1997 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse is available on the World Wide Web at www.samhsa.gov.