Minors using drugs has been an ongoing trend for decades and with more and more appealing methods of substance use, like vaping, it is easy to see the rise in popularity and the appeal to younger crowds.

Ms. Nora D. Volkow, director of the NIDA, said that teens are attracted to the marketing of the vaping products, and often begin use without thought to the dangers of vaping.

“Teens are clearly attracted to this marketable technology and flavorings seen on vaping devices,” Volkow said. “However, it is urgent that teens understand the possible effects of vaping on the overall health, the development of the teen brain, and the potential for addiction.”

Volkow responded to a report released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The report detailed Monitoring the Future, which was a survey of eighth-, 10th-, and 12th-graders across the nation.

The survey showed seniors have increased their use of vaping almost 10 percent from 2017 to 2018. In 2017, 27.8 percent reported vaping in the past 12 months. but in 2018, that rate went up to 37.3 percent.

Teenagers reported that they vape nicotine and marijuana more in 2018 than just a year before, as well as vaping using “just flavoring.”

With vaping among teens on the rise, where does that leave other substances?

Regular tobacco usage is at an all-time low at 3.6 percent of seniors using tobacco daily, compared to the 22.4 percent usage among seniors 20 years ago.

However, with this percentage, it is important to note that teens may use vaping to substitute for smoking, believing it to be a better choice for their health.

On top of the decline in tobacco use among teens, prescription opioid use has dropped 3.4 percent among seniors in high school, a noticeable drop from 4.2 percent in 2017.

The use of heroin has been reported at a 0.4 percent use in seniors.

On the slight contrast, marijuana use has remained steady, with 5.8 percent of high school seniors reporting daily use. Daily use of marijuana has been reported to range from 5.0 to 6.6 percent in seniors in high school in the last 20 years, generally remaining steady.

With teen alcohol consumption, only 17.5 percent of seniors report being drunk within the last 30 days, a nine percent drop from the 26 percent in 2013.

Reports of binge drinking have also dropped to 13.8 percent among seniors, a dramatic plummet from the 31.5 percent in 1998.

These findings represent some of the lowest rates seen in alcohol use among high school seniors since the National Institute on Drug Abuse began surveying teens in high school on their substance use.

Mr. George F. Kob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said the drop in use of alcohol among minors is good, but there is still work to be done in order to end alcohol and drug use in minors.

“We are encouraged to see continued declines in a variety of measures of underage alcohol use,” Kob said. “The new data, however, underscores that far too many young people continue to drink at a time in their lives when their brains and bodies are quite vulnerable to alcohol-related harms.”

One student here at KHS sees a similar decline among her peers.

Senior Lindsey Bouchard feels that even though substances are still being used, it is on the decline.

“Alcohol is not nearly as popular among teens as it was even five years ago,” she said. “It’s still being used, but people my age just aren’t as interested in doing it.”

The news of the decline in substance use is bringing forth a new horizon for health and wellness among teens, but the rise in vaping and steady use of marijuana serves as a reminder that we must always strive to keep teens aware of what they can be putting themselves at risk for.