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Teenagers have more addictive substances available to them than even 10 years ago. No longer are parents only worried about protecting their children from the traditional substances they grew up around.
While teens still abuse alcohol and drugs, a new terror has also entered into society and is starting to become a social norm. 2020 is the year that parents need to be looking at new signs of addiction that their children may be experiencing.
Vaping Has Become the New Addiction
In 2006, vaping entered the US in the form of electronic cigarettes or also known as e-cigarettes. This tobacco product quickly became popularized within recent years amongst teenagers as an alternative to smoking actual cigarettes. While vaping has been considered safer than traditional tobacco products, more studies are showing addiction and deaths amongst users, many of whom are adolescents.
A recent study shows that adolescent nicotine vaping has considerably increased to almost double the number of users from 2017 to 2019.
8th graders increased from 10.6% to 20.7%.
10th graders increased from 21.4% to 36.4%.
12th graders increased from 25% to 40.5%.
Statistics on Teen Addiction in the USA
As a parent, there is already so much on your mind for trying to help your child grow into a mature adult. You want them to make the right decisions, to stay safe, to communicate with you when they are experiencing pain, depression, or anxiety. However, your child could become addicted to any number of substances and you may not even know it.
It might shock you just how many adolescents have addiction problems throughout the US.
How do they get their hands on these substances?
Why are they using drugs, alcohol, or vaping in the first place?
What are the leading causes for my child’s addiction?
This infographic has the answers to many questions you may have. We have gathered a list of updated statistics ranging from the year 2011 to 2019 so you can be more knowledgeable in discovering if your child is addicted.
We include alcohol abuse statistics, marijuana abuse, and vaping abuse.
2019: The most common substances abused by teens are marijuana, alcohol, tobacco.
2014: One of the most common reasons teens abuse drugs is “to fit in”.
2019: ⅓ of parents believe they can’t help their teen with substance abuse.
2017: Roughly 20% of adolescents have been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug on school grounds.
2011: 75% of all high school students have used tobacco, alcohol, marijuana or cocaine. 1 in 5 is considered addicted. ⅔ of teens have tried alcohol by the 12th grade.
2011: 46% of all high school students currently use addictive substances. 1 in 3 is considered addicted.
2018: 4% of 8th graders, 9% of 10th graders, 14% of 12th graders binge drink alcohol.
2017: An average of 30% of adolescents drink alcohol in the US. 26.2% of adolescents in Colorado drink alcohol. The highest percentage by state is Louisiana at 34%.
2017: 14% of adolescents use prescription drugs without a prescription. The majority of teens get prescription drugs from home.
2019: In 2019, 14.6% of 12th graders used prescription drugs without a prescription.
2018: 12% of senior high schoolers use illicit drugs other than marijuana.
2017: An average of 20% of adolescents use marijuana in the US. 19.6% of adolescents in Colorado use marijuana. The highest percentage by state is New Mexico at 27.3%.
2018: 5.9% of senior high schoolers use marijuana on a daily basis.
2019: 20% of 8th graders, 35.7% of 10th graders, 40.6% of 12th graders have used vaping products.
2019: The most common reason for adolescent vaping is “to experiment”.
2019: 82% of teens say “it’s easy to acquire vaping devices”.
2019: As of 2019, vaping nicotine is more popular for teens than smoking cigarettes.
2017: In 2017, nearly 16% of all US suicides were adolescents.
If your child is addicted, abusing alcohol or drugs, experiencing depression, or is behaving differently, contact Fire Mountain Residential Treatment Center for Troubled Teens. We are a group of experts in understanding your child and how to help them grow into the adult they are supposed to be. Visit our Treatment Programs for more information on how we can help your child.
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