A new state-by-state report on youth alcohol and other drug use found current use of illicit drugs on the decline but few signs of progress in curbing underage drinking, the Associated Press reported April 6.

In 2004, 10.9 percent of youths ages 12-17 reported using illicit drugs in the past month, according to the report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). That was down from 11.4 percent in 2002. Illinois, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia saw youth drug use decline, while use in other states remained essentially unchanged.

Nationally, teen drinking also held steady, with 17.67 percent of teens saying they consumed alcohol within the last month. Drinking rose among 12- to 20-year-olds in California and Wisconsin.

SAMHSA administrator Charles Curie called underage drinking "a stubbornly persistent problem," adding: "It's time to change attitudes toward teen drinking from acceptance to abstinence. It begins by recognizing the importance of parents talking to their children early and often about alcohol, especially before they've started drinking."

The SAMHSA report found that teen drug use was highest in Alaska and New Mexico, and lowest in Mississippi and Iowa. Smoking was highest in Kentucky and South Dakota and lowest in Utah and the District of Columbia. Underage-drinking rates were highest in Iowa, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

"States tend to have drinking and other problems as you go further north, where a large portion of the year you are removed from a lot of other people," noted study author Douglas Wright, who said states should use the findings to assess and tailor their anti-drug programs.