Drug use among teenagers has continued to drop since the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large national study says.
一项大型全国性研究表明，自 COVID-19 大流行初期以来，青少年吸毒人数持续下降。
The federally financed Monitoring the Future study has been carried out yearly since 1975. However, the study only started measuring abstinence – the practice of rejecting alcohol or recreational drug use – in 2017.
联邦资助的“监测未来”研究自 1975 年以来每年进行一次。然而，该研究直到 2017 年才开始衡量戒酒情况，即拒绝饮酒或消遣性药物的使用。
This year’s findings are based on answers from about 24,000 students in grades 8, 10 and 12 in schools across the United States.
今年的调查结果基于美国各地学校约 24,000 名 8、10 和 12 年级学生的回答。
One major finding: About 66 percent of 12th graders said they had not used alcohol, marijuana, and traditional or electronic cigarettes in the previous 30 days.
一项重大发现：约 66% 的 12 年级学生表示，他们在过去 30 天内没有使用酒精、大麻以及传统或电子烟。
That share, or proportion, of students is the largest since the yearly study started measuring abstinence.
这一比例是自年度研究开始衡量禁欲率以来最大的学生比例。
The study is “one of the best, if not the best” source of national data for substance use by teens, said Noah Kreski. Kreski is a Columbia University data analyst who has studied teen drug use.
诺亚·克雷斯基 (Noah Kreski) 表示，这项研究是“最好的，即使不是最好的”国家青少年药物使用数据来源。 克雷斯基是哥伦比亚大学的数据分析师，研究青少年吸毒情况。
Among 10th graders, 80 percent said they had not used alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes or e-cigarettes recently, another record. Among 8th graders, 90 percent did not use any of them, the same as was reported in the previous study.
在十年级学生中，80% 的人表示他们最近没有使用酒精、大麻、香烟或电子烟，这是另一项记录。 在八年级学生中，90% 的学生没有使用任何这些工具，这与之前的研究报告的情况相同。
The only major increase found was in the use of nicotine pouches, small, white containers of nicotine which users place in their mouths. About 6 percent of 12th graders said they had used that form of nicotine in the past year, up from about 3 percent in 2023.
唯一发现的主要增加是尼古丁袋的使用，这是使用者放入口中的小型白色尼古丁容器。 大约 6% 的 12 年级学生表示，他们在过去一年中使用过这种形式的尼古丁，而 2023 年这一比例约为 3%。
Whether that has the makings of a new public health problem is unclear. The University of Michigan’s Richard Miech, who leads the study, said: “It’s hard to know if we’re seeing the start of something, or not.”
目前尚不清楚这是否会引发新的公共卫生问题。 领导这项研究的密歇根大学理查德·米奇表示：“很难知道我们是否看到了某些事情的开始。”
Early in the pandemic, students across the country were told not to go to schools and to avoid parties or other gatherings. Alcohol and drug use of all kinds dropped likely because use most often happens in friend group settings. Friends often influence each other to use drugs, experts say.
在疫情爆发初期，全国各地的学生都被告知不要去学校，并避免参加聚会或其他聚会。 各种酒精和药物的使用可能会下降，因为使用最常发生在朋友群体中。 专家表示，朋友之间经常会影响彼此吸毒。
As lockdowns ended, “I think everyone expected at least a partial rebound,” Miech said.
随着封锁结束，“我认为每个人都预计至少会有部分反弹，”米奇说。
Even before the pandemic, there were decreases in teen cigarette smoking, drinking and the use of several kinds of drugs. Experts suggested that teens were staying home as opposed to spending time in social settings, in which use of illegal substances is more likely.
甚至在大流行之前，青少年吸烟、饮酒和使用多种药物的情况就已经减少。 专家建议，青少年呆在家里，而不是花时间在社交场合，因为社交场合更有可能使用非法药物。
But marijuana use was not falling before the pandemic. And vaping was increasing. It was only during the pandemic that those activities began to decrease also.
但在大流行之前，大麻的使用并没有下降。 电子烟的使用量正在增加。 只是在大流行期间，这些活动也开始减少。
Some experts wonder if the pandemic lockdowns had a deeper influence.
一些专家想知道大流行的封锁是否产生了更深层次的影响。
Miech noted that a lot of teens who experiment with e-cigarettes or drugs start in the 9th grade, sometimes because older children are doing it. But the children who were 9th graders during the lockdowns never picked up the activity. And they never had the opportunity to turn into negative influencers of their younger classmates, he said.
米奇指出，许多尝试电子烟或毒品的青少年从九年级开始，有时是因为年龄较大的孩子也在这样做。 但封锁期间九年级的孩子们从未参加过这项活动。 他说，他们从来没有机会成为年轻同学的负面影响者。
“The pandemic stopped the cycle of new kids coming in and being recruited to drug use,” Miech said.
米奇说：“这场大流行病阻止了新孩子进入并被招募吸毒的循环。”
Mental health may also play a part. There were increased reports of depression and anxiety in kids after the pandemic began. Depression is often linked with substance use, but some people with depression and anxiety are very cautious about experimenting with drugs, said Dr. Duncan Clark. Clark is a University of Pittsburgh medical doctor who researches substance use in kids.
心理健康也可能发挥一定作用。 大流行开始后，关于儿童抑郁和焦虑的报道有所增加。 邓肯·克拉克博士说，抑郁症通常与药物滥用有关，但一些患有抑郁症和焦虑症的人对尝试药物非常谨慎。 克拉克是匹兹堡大学的一名医生，研究儿童药物滥用问题。
“Some teens with anxiety are worried about the effects of substances. They may also be socially inhibited and have less opportunity to use drugs,” Clark said.
“一些患有焦虑症的青少年担心药物的影响。 他们也可能受到社交抑制，吸毒的机会较少，”克拉克说。
