More U.S. teens are now smoking marijuana than cigarettes, according to a new survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC survey found that 23 percent of U.S. high school students have recently smoked marijuana, while 19 percent say they’ve recently smoked cigarettes. This marks the first time in history that marijuana use has surpassed cigarette smoking. Some experts believe that the rise in marijuana use is because teens believe the drug is less harmful to their health than cigarettes, which has been on the decline for years.
But that also means there are more teens driving under the influence. According to the Huffington Post, a different study found that 19 percent of teen drivers have reported driving under the influence of marijuana, with over a third saying they believe the drug has no effect on their driving abilities!
But in good news, underage drinking is on the decline. According to the study, 63.5 percent of 12th graders reported drinking in the past year, compared to 74.8 percent in 1997.
One bad habit at a time.
