ANCHORAGE — A new state survey shows fewer Alaska teens are engaging in cigarette, alcohol and drug use.
The Alaska Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows students across the state have reported declines in smoking, substance use, riding with an impaired driver, sexual activity and fighting. The results are compared to data from 2009, according to KTVA-TV.
The survey was compiled by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Education and Early Development.
It shows around 11 percent of high school students reported smoking cigarettes in the last 30 days, compared to 18 percent of students in 2007.
Students who reported abusing prescription drugs totaled close to 15 percent, down from about 21 percent in 2009.
The survey did reveal increases in bullying and cyberbullying rates in the state, at about 23 percent and 18 percent, respectively, but both those statistics were in line with national rates. There was also an increase in the number of Alaska students who avoided school because of safety concerns, and more Alaska students reported carrying a weapon to school than other students in the U.S.
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey is part of an epidemiological monitoring system used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since 1990, according to the state Department of Health and Social Services website. The survey was first implemented in Alaska in 1995.
