Some good news regarding teen methamphetamine use and cigarette smoking came out in December of 2009. It appears they are at some of their lowest levels. The National Institute on Drug Abuse’s annual MTF (Monitoring the Future) survey stated this fact, and also mentions the declines in marijuana use slowed though. Prescription drug abuse remains high in teens.
Here are some of the numbers regarding methamphetamine.
- 1.2% – The number of high school seniors now reporting they used methamphetamine.
- 4.7% – The number of high school seniors in 1999 who reported using methamphetamine.
- 5.5% – The number of high school sophomores who reported that methamphetamine is easy to obtain.
- 19.5% – The number of high school sophomores in 1999 who reported that methamphetamine is easy to obtain.
Here are some of the numbers regarding cigarette smoking.
- 2.7% – The number of eighth graders who described themselves as daily smokers.
- 10.4% – The number of eighth graders in 1996 who described themselves as daily smokers.
- 11.2% – The number of high school seniors who described themselves as daily smokers.
- 24.6% – The number of high school seniors in 1997 who described themselves as daily smokers.
These numbers do look promising, and there is certainly more work to be done to distribute the word on the dangers of methamphetamine and smoking. One focus for the future is to minimize the cases for drug addiction treatment.
For more of this report, go to the National Institute on Drug Abuse website.