US teen drug, alcohol and tobacco use continues to decline

Record numbers of teens now abstain, a trend starting during the Covid pandemic and continuing to the present

Drug and alcohol use among teenagers has continued to decline, according to a new study, continuing a downward trend observed at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Record numbers of teens are abstaining from drugs, alcohol and tobacco, according to a survey from Monitoring the Future, an ongoing project at the University of Michigan Survey Research Center. The survey, conducted annually since 1975, released its latest findings based on responses from about 24,000 students in grades 8, 10 and 12 across the US.