Tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use among high school students - United States, 1991

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Sept 18, 1992

Editorial Note: Tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use among youth causes serious public health problems in cities and states throughout the nation. Because the quality of the samples varied among the state and local surveys, data across sites may not be comparable. Nonetheless, these results can be useful in planning and evaluating broad national, state, and local interventions and monitoring progress toward achieving national education goals and national health objectives.

National education goal 6 [8] aims to have every school in America free of drugs and violence and offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning by the year 2000. The results presented in this report will be used in the second progress report on the status of the national education goals to be released September 30; results from similar surveys conducted during 1990 were used in the first progress report on the status of the national education goals [8,9].

National health objectives 3.5, 3.9, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, and 4.11 are to reduce the use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs among youth [1]. The results presented in this report measure progress toward achieving these objectives in participating cities and states.

For example, objective 3.9 is to reduce smokeless tobacco use by males aged 12-24 years to a prevalence of no more than 4%. In 19 of the 33 sites, the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use among male students is three or more times higher than this national health objective. Objective 4.6 states that among youth aged 12-17 years the prevalence of alcohol use during the previous 30 days should be no more than 12.6%, of marijuana no more than 3.2%, and of cocaine no more than 0.6%. In all but one site, the current prevalence of alcohol use is at least two times higher than this national health objective; in all but three sites, the current prevalence of marijuana use is at least three times higher; and in all but four sites, the current prevalence of cocaine use is at least two times higher. Objective 4.7 is to reduce to no more than 28% the proportion of high school seniors engaging in recent occasions of episodic heavy drinking. Rates of episodic heavy drinking among students in grades 9-12 are higher than this national health objective in 14 of the 33 sites. Objective 4.11 is to reduce to no more than 3% the proportion of male high school seniors who use anabolic steroids. Rates of anabolic steroid use among male students in grades 9-12 are higher than this national health objective in all but one site.

To meet the national health objectives, efforts to help youth reduce the use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs will need to increase among federal, state, and local education, health, and drug-control agencies, and among families, the media, legislators, community organizations, and youth. (*) Smoking on 20 or more of the 30 days preceding the survey.

References

[1] Public Health Service. Healthy people 2000: national health promotion and disease prevention objectives--full report, with commentary. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, 1991; DHHS publication no. (PHS)91-50212. [2] Jessor R, Jessor S. Problem behavior and psychosocial development: a longitudinal study. New York: Academic Press, 1977. [3] Kolbe LJ, Green L, Foreyt J, et al. Appropriate functions of health education in schools: improving health and cognitive performance. In: Krasnegor NA, Arasteh JD, Cataldo MF, eds. Child health behavior: a behavioral pediatrics perspective. New York: Wiley and Sons, 1986. [4] Dryfoos J. Adolescents at risk: prevalence and prevention. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. [5] Mensch BS, Kandel DB. Dropping out of high school and drug involvement. Sociology of Education 1981;61:95-113. [6] Kolbe LJ. An epidemiological surveillance system to monitor the prevalence of youth behaviors that most affect health. Health Education 1990;21:44-8. [7] CDC. Participation in school physical education and selected dietary patterns among high school students--United States, 1991. MMWR 1992;41:597-601,607. [8] National Education Goals Panel. The national education goals report. Washington, DC: National Education Goals Panel, 1991. [9] CDC. Current tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine use among high school students--United States, 1990. MMWR 1991;40:659-63.