Despite the decades of prevention aimed at teens, and the fact that both the alcohol and tobacco industries have stated policies against advertising to youth, increasing numbers of adolescents and young adults begin using these drugs at an early age.

The 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) reported that there were 4.7 million new users of alcohol in 1997, compared to about 3.2 million new users in 1992. Among 12- to 17-year-olds, the rate of first use of alcohol went from 117.6 per 1,000 population to 216.8 per 1,000 population. Among 18- to 25-year-olds, the rate rose from 157.5 per 1,000 to 219.3 per 1,000.

That's more than twice the first-use rates reported for marijuana use: An estimated 2.3 million Americans used marijuana for the first time in 1998, with the prevalence rate for 12- to 17-year-olds rising from 45.6 per 1,000 in 1991 to 90.8 per 1,000 in 1997. This, despite the fact that the rate of marijuana initiation for youth between 1995 and 1998 was at its highest levels since the 1970s.

The alcohol first-use numbers overshadow even the remarkably high number of youths who begin smoking each year. In 1997, an estimated 3.4 million people smoked their first cigarette, with the initiation rate for 12- to 17-year-olds rising from 100.9 to 159.2 per 1,000 population, according to the NHSDA. About 1.6 million people became daily smokers in 1998, about half of whom were under age 18.

The survey also illustrates the power of a fad: 4.9 million people smoked their first cigar in 1998 -- the height of the boom in the popularity of stogies, which has since diminished. The 1998 figure compares to just 1.5 million new users in 1991.

So-called "hard drugs" may command great attention in drug prevention campaigns, but the NHSDA data shows that, on a national basis, at least, youth experimentation with substances such as heroin, cocaine, hallucinogens and even methamphetamine remains comparatively rare. Even with the trend toward purer, snortable heroin (which removed the stigma and revulsion toward injecting the drug) and the so-called "heroin chic" of the early 1990s, less than 2 of every 1,000 12- to 17-year-olds tried the drug in 1998.

Among the same age group, 3.6 per 1,000 first tried crack, about 13 of every 1,000 tried cocaine, and 25.9 per 1,000 tried hallucinogens. Inhalant use, which has been on the rise among teens and has generated a good deal of media and public attention, was tried by about 28 of every 1,000 12- to 17-year-olds.

To put those numbers in some perspective, consider that teens were more likely to first use prescription drugs non-medically (32.4 per 1,000) in 1998 than any of these illicit substances.

The NHSDA also reported that first use of methamphetamine among 12- to 17-year-olds rose from 2.2 to 7.4 per 1,000 population between 1990 and 1998; among 18- to 25-year-olds, the initiation rate went from 3.0 per 1,000 in 1990 to 6.1 per 1,000 in 1998.

Treatment and Prevention

Wondering how the battle against marijuana is going? The Household Survey offers some clues on the effectiveness of current supply- and demand-reduction efforts, and the news is not especially encouraging. Just 37.2 percent of 12- to 17-year-old survey respondents said using marijuana on a monthly basis carries with it a great deal of risk. Also, 56 percent of adolescents said it was fairly easy or very easy to obtain marijuana.

If parents are "the anti-drug" -- as the Office of National Drug Control Policy likes to put it -- they don't seem to be an effective inoculation against marijuana use. While the NHSDA reports that more than half of all youth say they have spoken to their parents about alcohol and other drugs, the survey found no noticeable difference in pot use between these kids and those who did not talk to their parents.

Formal school-based anti-drug programs appeared to be somewhat more effective: current marijuana use among those who attended such programs was 7.4 percent, compared to 8.3 percent among students who had no such education.

Finally, the survey data confirm that only a fraction of the people in the U.S. who require addiction treatment are getting help. The NHSDA estimates that 10.3 million Americans are dependent on alcohol or other drugs -- 4.7 percent of the total population. Dependency peaks at about age 21, when 11.7 percent of the population meets the criteria for dependence.

Yet just 2.8 million people -- 1.3 percent of the over-12 population -- reported receiving any kind of addiction treatment during the year prior to the survey being conducted in 1999. Among youths ages 12 to 17, 1.3 percent had received treatment, while 2 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds had done so.

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