Why alcohol and drug use may be declining among young Americans

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released new data this week showing a decline in tobacco, alcohol and drug use among U.S. adolescents and young adults.

The agency's annual national survey looked at drug use and mental health among 12-to-17-year-olds and 18-to-25-year-olds in 2025.

Among 12-to-17-year-olds, the survey showed a drop in those who reported tobacco, alcohol and binge drinking in the past month and the use of illicit drugs in the past year.

Meanwhile, 18-to-25-year-olds saw declines in the use of nicotine products, tobacco, cigarette, alcohol and binge drinking in the past month as well as the use of illicit drugs and prescription stimulants or opioids within the past year.

Some public health specialists told ABC News there are several reasons for the declines, including fewer adolescents and young adults engaging in risky behaviors and public health messaging campaigns.

"There is a long-term decline, and usually when we speak about the youth, people say, 'You know kids these days and you know how terrible it is,'" Daniel Kruger, a research associate professor at University at Buffalo, State University of New York, told ABC News. "But this is actually one of the things that we're looking at and we're saying, 'Oh wow, this is interesting. They're actually using less alcohol, less tobacco, less cannabis than previous cohorts.'"

Declines in risky behavior

Research has shown that American teenagers are engaging in less risky behavior than previous generations, such as crime, dangerous driving and unprotected sexual behavior. With less risky behavior has come less substance use and abuse, according to the specialists.

"There's sort of like a delay in adulthood," Kruger said. "In other words, they're driving at older ages, moving out of the house at older ages. So, there's just sort of like a longer period of adolescent development, a longer period where people are still in the orbit of their parents compared to previous generations."

Kruger also said there are different social environments for current generations compared to past generations that might play a role in the decline. Teenagers and young adults spend more time online and in front of screens than previous generations did, meaning younger Americans are socializing remotely.

"There's a lot more online time and a lot more supervised time and a lot less unstructured, unsupervised, free time for people to get together, and that's typically where they would consume substances," he said.

Public health messaging

The specialists told ABC News that public health messaging about the dangers of drinking and smoking may be contributing to the declining rates of use.

Many studies have been published showing that alcohol raises the risk of several types of cancer, and there have been decades of public health campaigns about the dangers of smoking cigarettes.

"There's just a lot more a lot more education in general about the likely harms of these substances, and it seems like the very basic informational education about the risks and harms -- rather than like one of these scared straight programs -- might be making progress," Kruger said.

Denise Hien, a distinguished professor in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers and director of the Rutgers Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies, told ABC News that adults may be learning about the dangers of certain substances and cutting back on use, which is being copied by younger Americans.

"We're seeing it in the youth, who of course have parents who are being influenced by the public health messaging and the science," Hien said. "So, I think there's a number of reasons why we're seeing those declines, but those kind of influences, familial and also public health, are probably filtering down into the youth."

Switch to vaping, marijuana

Although declines have been seen in the use of alcohol and cigarettes, the use of other substances is on the rise.

"The trends are starting to shift," Hein said. "What we're seeing is higher vaping and higher cannabis use. So it's almost like maybe there's a replacement."

Overall adolescent marijuana use had declined, but the survey found that from 2021 to 2025, the percentage of those aged 12 and older who used marijuana in the past year increased from 19% in 2021 to 21.2% in 2026.

Additionally, adolescent cigarette use has declined but nicotine vaping is on the rise. Those aged 12 and older who engaged in nicotine vaping in the past month increased from 8.3% in 2022 to 10.1% in 2025, the survey found.

Anti-vaping advocates have said that e-cigarettes in kid-friendly flavors have increased in use among youth and young adults.

More states have legalized recreational marijuana, making the drug more widely available.

"We're seeing higher vaping and higher cannabis use, so it's almost like maybe there's a replacement," Hien said.

She added that teenagers and young adults "may perceive alcohol and nicotine as dangerous, but cannabis and vaping is not. The perception is it's not as harmful."