Less tobacco use, binge drinking high schoolers

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A survey of high school students in North Dakota shows a drop in tobacco use and binge drinking.

State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler says students who responded to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey also said they were more apt to wear seat belts, less likely to drink and drive, and less likely to use a cellphone while driving.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started the survey in 1990 to monitor potential causes of health and social problems. Students in grades 7-12 voluntarily take the survey in the spring of odd-numbered years.

Eighty percent of students in this year’s survey said they did not use tobacco, compared with 74 percent two years ago. Eighty-two percent said they did not binge drink, compared with 78 percent in 2013.