The National Institute on Drug Abuse released its annual survey of more than 43,000 eighth, 10th and 12th graders from across the U.S. with a specific look at what teens are inhaling, popping, and smoking.
Among the highlights: Use of electronic vaporizers is up. Nearly one-third of high school seniors report having used one this past year.
"They're vaping nicotine, they're vaping marijuana, and sometimes vaping just flavorings that they don't think has anything but the flavors in them. The downward trends in tobacco use and alcohol use and many illicit drugs continues in 2017," said Dr. Wilson Compton, of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Regular cigarettes have fallen out of favor. They're used by just over 4 percent of 12th graders.
Pot is more popular with nearly 6 percent of high school seniors who smoke marijuana. It's a concern, because the substance has grown in potency in recent decades.
"We also see marijuana used in new forms, things like waxes and oils, extracts of marijuana that can be up to 90 percent pure," said Compton.
And teens are less and less likely to pop pills. Opioid abuse has fallen with recreational use of painkillers like Vicodin and Oxycontin at all-time lows.
Unfortunately, there was a slight uptick in younger kids. Eighth graders are abusing inhalants like glue, sprays, and vaporizers.
