It’s a sobering report in one way.
More American teenagers are staying away from alcohol, marijuana and nicotine — but two other vices are growing in use, according to a national survey released Wednesday.
While drinking and smoking rates continue to show a steady decline, following similar results from the survey conducted last year, two other highly dangerous drugs have made their way back into the hands of teens.
The federally-funded “Monitoring the Future” survey, run by the University of Michigan, collects responses from 24,000 students in grades 8, 10 and 12 across the country every year since 1975.
Researchers found several similarities to the previous year’s findings, with two notable exceptions.
82% of 10th graders hadn’t used alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes or electronic cigarettes in the past month, while 91% of 8th graders had abstained, a slight uptick from 2024.
And both the 2024 and 2025 surveys found that roughly two-thirds of high school seniors said they hadn’t drunk alcohol or used marijuana or tobacco products in the past month.
However, there was a concerning increase in the number of students using heroin and cocaine.
All three grades saw rises in heroin use, while more 8th and 12th graders are now using cocaine than previously noted.
While the numbers are still “leagues below what they were decades ago,” the increases — all of which were less than a 1% difference from last year — still deserve a close eye, according to survey team lead Richard Miech.
The study also noted that sexual activity is down, echoing the general trend of people losing interest in frisky activities.
And teen drug use has been declining steadily over recent years, with a dramatic decrease in the early days of the COVID pandemic.
Researchers have a few ideas why both overall substance use and sexual relations among teens continue to drop.
“Online connections don’t create the same opportunities for experimenting with sex, alcohol or marijuana as unsupervised time face-to-face,” said Rutgers University professor of Sexual and Reproductive Health Laura Lindberg.
Other factors that could explain the drop in drugs include efforts to stop young people from vaping and taxes on certain substances, making prices higher.
One substance that stayed as popular as ever? Caffeine.
More than 20% of high schoolers and around 18% of tweens are downing energy drinks daily, despite the potential health risks of consuming too much caffeine.
