Teen Drug and Alcohol Use Is Near Historic Lows. What the Numbers Actually Mean

For years, parents have heard warnings about teenagers and drugs, alcohol and binge drinking. But the latest national data tell a more complicated and in some ways more encouraging story.

Several major measures of adolescent substance use remain near historically low levels, according to two large national surveys. Alcohol use and binge drinking among teenagers have fallen sharply over the past 25 years, while newer federal data also show declines in several measures of substance use among adolescents ages 12 to 17.

The trend is significant. But it does not mean teen substance use has disappeared.

Alcohol use has fallen sharply

The National Institute on Drug Abuse-supported Monitoring the Future survey has tracked substance use among U.S. eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders for decades.

The long-term decline in alcohol use is striking.

From 2000 to 2025, the percentage of students reporting alcohol use in the previous 12 months fell:

• 12th grade: 73% to 41%
• 10th grade: 65% to 24%
• 8th grade: 43% to 11%

In 2025, alcohol use was generally stable compared with 2024. The important change is the much longer trend: today’s levels are substantially lower than they were a generation ago.

Binge drinking has fallen even more

The decline is also visible in binge drinking.

For the Monitoring the Future survey, binge drinking is defined as having five or more drinks in a row during the previous two weeks.

Between 2000 and 2025, reported binge drinking fell from:

• 30% to 9% among 12th-graders
• 24% to 2% among 10th-graders
• 12% to 1% among 8th-graders

Those numbers did not fall dramatically from 2024 to 2025. Instead, they reflect a long-term decline that has occurred over many years.

That distinction matters.

The newest data do not necessarily show that teen drinking suddenly dropped last year. They show that adolescent drinking and binge drinking remain at levels far below those recorded in 2000.

A second national survey finds a similar pattern

The trend is not based on one survey alone.

The 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, found declines from 2021 to 2025 among 12- to 17-year-olds in several measures, including past-month alcohol, binge drinking, tobacco and marijuana use.

The survey also found declines in past-year illicit drug use and marijuana use, as well as several measures of substance-use disorder and initiation of alcohol, nicotine vaping and marijuana use.

Together, the two surveys provide evidence that the decline in adolescent substance use is not simply a one-year fluctuation.

But “historic lows” does not mean zero

There is an important distinction between less substance use and no substance use.

The 2025 Monitoring the Future survey found that 41% of 12th-graders reported drinking alcohol during the previous year. Cannabis use was reported by 26% of 12th-graders, while 20% reported nicotine vaping.

Those figures are dramatically lower than some historical levels, but they still represent substantial numbers of teenagers.

And some substances require continued attention. The 2025 survey found statistically significant increases in reported past-year heroin use among all three grades surveyed and increases in cocaine use among eighth- and 12th-graders, although the overall percentages remained low compared with historical levels. Researchers said those changes warrant monitoring.

So the national picture is neither a crisis narrative nor a reason for complacency.

Why are teenagers using less?

This is where the evidence becomes less certain.

Researchers documented a particularly sharp decline in many forms of substance use between 2020 and 2021. The NIH says that change was associated, in part, with pandemic-era disruptions in drug availability and teenagers’ social lives.

But that does not establish a single explanation for the longer-term decline.

The surveys show what has happened much more clearly than they explain why it happened.

That matters because it would be premature to attribute the entire trend to one factor such as parenting, school programs, social media, changes in drug availability or changing attitudes among teenagers.

Those may all be subjects for further research.

What should parents take from the numbers?

The most useful takeaway may be that fear does not have to be the starting point for conversations about drugs and alcohol.

The national data show that many teenagers are choosing not to use substances.

At the same time, parents and caregivers should not assume that a low national rate means their own teenager is not facing pressure or risk.

Warning signs such as significant changes in behavior, school performance, relationships, sleep or mood can warrant a conversation with a pediatrician, counselor or other trusted professional.

And conversations about alcohol and drugs remain important even when overall use is declining.

What the numbers cannot tell us

National averages can hide important differences.

They cannot tell us why an individual teenager uses a substance, whether every school or community is experiencing the same trend, or whether today’s declines will continue.

They also cannot tell us which teenagers may be particularly vulnerable to developing a substance-use disorder.

Those questions require more specific research and, often, conversations with health professionals who know the individual teenager.

The latest evidence provides a useful correction to the assumption that adolescent substance use is continually getting worse.

It isn’t.

Many major measures of teen alcohol and drug use have declined substantially over the past generation, and several remain near historically low levels.

But the evidence does not support the opposite conclusion that the problem has gone away.

The most accurate picture is more nuanced:

Teen substance use is lower than it was, but the remaining use still matters.

For parents, educators and communities, that means the goal is not to panic over the numbers or dismiss them. It is to understand what the data actually show, recognize where risks remain and keep the conversation going.