With Cigarettes Out of Favor, Many U.S. Teens Also Shun Pot

HealthDay, Monday November 6, 2017

(Also, see editorial by Nicholas Chadi and Sharon Levy in Pediatrics)

Today’s American teens are smoking less than ever, and the trend may be keeping many from smoking pot, too. That’s the finding of a new study that tracked more than 1 million teens from 1991 to 2016. […]

Then there’s the not-so-good news: Over the past decade, the percentage of 12th graders who’ve used marijuana in the past year has stubbornly hovered over 30 percent.

That means education about the harms of marijuana is still critical, said Dr. Nicholas Chadi, a pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist at Boston Children’s Hospital.

“Marijuana is harmful to the developing adolescent brain,” said Chadi, co-author of an editorial published [in Pediatrics]. Plus, he added, teenagers who use the drug are more prone to trying other illegal substances. Read more