Tobacco, e-cigarettes, alcohol, drugs: consumption declines among American adolescents

According to a recent report, the use of tobacco, e-cigarettes, alcohol and illicit drugs among adolescents in the United States is in sharp decline. However, the data points to an increase in the use of nicotine pouches. The authors of the report stress the need for increased vigilance regarding these new uses.

The Monitoring the Future (MTF) report is a national survey conducted annually to track substance use trends among adolescents and young adults in the United States. The study was conducted among a nationally representative sample of 24,000 adolescents in the eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades.[1].

An overall downward trend, despite the COVID period

In 2024, the proportion of adolescents who had not used tobacco and nicotine products, alcohol, cannabis or other psychoactive substances in the thirty days preceding the survey reached a historic level. Thus, 90% of fourth-year students reported not having used any of these products in the last month, a drop of three points compared to 2017. Among second-year students, 80% now reported not having used any of these aforementioned products, compared to 69% in 2017. Finally, final-year students recorded the largest decrease in consumption: in 2017, 47% of them reported having used at least one of these products in the last thirty days. Since then, this proportion has fallen by 14 points, to stand at 33% in 2024. The report argues that these trends highlight a lasting decline in the consumption of psychoactive substances, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which had resulted in a deterioration in the mental health of the youngest, without however resulting in an increase in prevalence.

Tobacco and e-cigarette use down among adolescents

Although the report does not provide specific data on this point, the authors indicate that the proportion of adolescents who have not smoked in the thirty days preceding the survey is decreasing for 2024, all classes combined, although the decline is more significant among fourth and second year students. The report also points out that the smoking prevalence among adolescents has never been as low as it is today.

According to the report, the prevalence of cigarillo consumption declined sharply among high school students, from 7.8% to 3.1% between 2020 and 2024. A similar trend is observed for hookah consumption, from 5.6% to 2% in the same time interval. The consumption of these two products was not assessed for fourth and second grade students.

Furthermore, while the nicotine industry believes that the development of electronic cigarettes is the main factor explaining the decline in tobacco consumption, the report shows that consumption of these products is also in sharp decline. Thus, the prevalence of electronic cigarette consumption among fourth-year students fell from 16.6% to 9.6% between 2020 and 2024, that of second-year students fell by half, from 30.7% to 15.4%, and that of final-year students rose from 34.5% to 21%. Conversely, nicotine pouches seem to be gaining popularity among adolescents, since 6% of final-year students reported having used them in the last twelve months, compared to 3% in 2023.

Alcohol and drugs in sharp decline in just four years

The report also notes an overall decline in alcohol consumption among adolescents. Indeed, 12.9% of fourth-year students reported having consumed alcohol in the last twelve months, compared to 20.5% in 2020. The proportion of these adolescents indicating having experienced an episode of drunkenness in the past year halved during the same period, from 7.5% to 3.6%. For second-year students, the alcohol prevalence fell from 40.7% to 26.1% between 2020 and 2024, while 11.1% of them reported an episode of drunkenness in the past year (compared to 23.1% in 2020). The same trend is finally observed among high school students, 41.7% of whom indicate having consumed alcohol during the year (compared to 55.3% in 2020) and 25.5% report an episode of drunkenness (compared to 36.9%).

Finally, the report notes a significant decline in the use of illicit drugs by adolescents. Thus, 9% of fourth-year adolescents reported having used at least one illegal drug during the year, compared to 15.6% in 2020. For second-year students, this proportion increased from 30.4% to 16.9% between 2020 and 2024. For final-year students, the prevalence decreased by twelve points, from 38.6% to 26.2%.

FT

[1] Monitoring the Future, National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975–2024: Overview and key findings for secondary school students, 2024, (accessed 06/01/2025)