Declines in adolescent use of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis may have reached a plateau, and could reverse – New review

A review summarising the latest scientific evidence about adolescent substance use has just been published in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. The review, led by Dr Jude Ball (University of Otago) draws on Youth2000 surveys and other data sources to provide an overview of long term trends in adolescent tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and e-cigarette use. The paper also reviews evidence about harms including links between substance use and suicide, why young people use substances, and implications for policy and practice. The full paper is available online and key findings are summarised in this Stuff article.