The 2017 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), in partnership with the University of Michigan, found that one out of three 12th grade students reported using a vaping device. The students reported that the devices contained nicotine, marijuana, or some type of flavoring. The survey focuses on the behaviors of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in schools across the country.
In addition to the trends in vaping, the report had positive news on the opioid epidemic. “The survey also indicates that while opioid overdose rates remain high among adults, teens are misusing opioid pain medications less frequently than a decade ago, and are at historic lows with some of the commonly used pain medications.” In addition to reporting a decline in usage, the students indicated that they thought opioids are harder to get than they used to be. “Only 35.8 percent of 12th graders said they (opioids) were easily available in the 2017 survey, compared to more than 54 percent in 2010.