Statement of Steve Pasierb, President and CEO, Partnership for a Drug-Free America on the Release of the 2007 Monitoring the Fu...( NEW YORK Dec. 11 -- We are encou...),Health

NEW YORK, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- We are encouraged by the positive results of the 2007 Monitoring the Future study (MTF) released today in Washington, D.C., showing promising strides in the right direction with significant declines in overall teen drug use. These decreases are part of a larger trend for all measured age groups marking steady long-term reductions in youth drug use over the past six years (2001-2007).

MTF, now in its 33rd year, is an independent study among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan under a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

According to MTF, since 2001, overall teen drug use is down a sharp 24 percent (19.4 percent vs. 14.8 percent); teen use of marijuana is down 25 percent (16.6 percent vs. 12.4 percent); Ecstasy use is down by more than half (54 percent) and steroid use is down 33 percent (0.9 percent vs. 0.6 percent). Teen use of alcohol and cigarettes is also down significantly during in the 2001-2007 time period. Teen alcohol use is down 15 percent (35.5 percent vs. 30.1 percent); cigarette use is down 33 percent (20.2 percent vs. 13.6 percent).

"There are 860,000 fewer young people using drugs today than there were in 2001," said Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership. "This is very encouraging news and while the current MTF study underscores real progress and reason for hope in reducing the demand for drugs among teens, the data demand continued vigilance and the attention of all in the prevention field. Educating youth about the dangers of drugs and childhood drinking is an on-going job; a job that parents, caregivers, schools, government, the media, and members of the community must all continue to do together."

Since 1998 the Partnership and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) have collaborated on a national multi-platform education campaign
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