What's happened
Recent surveys show teens are drinking, smoking, and using substances at lower rates than in the past, but there are concerning increases in heroin and cocaine use among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders. Energy drink consumption remains high. Data from the Monitoring the Future survey highlights these trends as of December 2025.
What's behind the headline?
Critical Analysis
The survey’s findings reflect a complex landscape of youth behavior. While overall substance use remains lower than historical levels, the rise in heroin and cocaine use among teens signals potential shifts in drug availability or social factors. The increase in heroin use from 0.2% to 0.9% among 12th graders, and similar rises among younger groups, suggests that some teens are turning to more dangerous substances despite broader declines.
The stability in alcohol, marijuana, and vaping rates indicates that prevention efforts may be effective, but the emerging heroin trend could undermine these gains. Experts warn that these increases require close monitoring, as they could foreshadow broader public health challenges.
The data also aligns with declining teen sexual activity, possibly linked to increased digital socialization, which reduces face-to-face experimentation. This shift might contribute to the lower overall substance use but does not explain the specific rise in heroin and cocaine.
Policy responses should focus on targeted interventions for at-risk youth, especially given the rise in heroin, which remains a highly lethal drug. The findings underscore the importance of ongoing surveillance and adaptive prevention strategies to address evolving youth behaviors and drug markets.
What the papers say
The findings from the Monitoring the Future survey, run by the University of Michigan, are consistent with other recent surveys indicating declining overall teen substance use. However, the notable rise in heroin and cocaine use among teens, as reported by both The Independent and AP News, highlights emerging concerns. The Independent emphasizes the increase in heroin use from 0.2% to 0.9% among 12th graders and notes that these rates are still below historical levels but warrant close attention. AP News echoes this, pointing out that while teen drug use has been declining for decades, the recent uptick in heroin and cocaine use among younger teens is significant.
Meanwhile, The Independent’s coverage of nicotine pouch use in Britain underscores a broader trend of increasing nicotine product consumption among youth, driven by aggressive marketing and social media advertising. Experts from Action on Smoking and Health warn that such marketing fuels the rise, emphasizing the need for stricter regulation. The UCL-led research highlights that most nicotine pouch users are young men, with some never having smoked, raising concerns about new nicotine delivery methods potentially serving as gateways to other drug use.
Together, these sources illustrate a nuanced picture: overall declines in traditional substance use are overshadowed by emerging risks from novel substances and nicotine products, driven by marketing and social trends. The policy implications are clear—regulation and targeted prevention are crucial to prevent these trends from escalating.
How we got here
The Monitoring the Future survey, conducted annually since 1975 by the University of Michigan, provides key data on teen substance use across the US. The 2025 results, based on responses from about 24,000 students, reveal long-term declines in drug use, with pandemic-related drops stabilizing. However, recent increases in heroin and cocaine use among teens mark a new concern, despite overall lower rates compared to previous decades.
Go deeper
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University College London, officially known as UCL since 2005, is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom.
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The University of Michigan, often simply referred to as Michigan, is a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The university is Michigan's oldest; it was founded in 1817 in Detroit, as the Catholepistemiad, or the University of Michigania, 20