Teen Alcohol and Drug Use
Sparta Area School District Teen Alcohol and Drug Use
Students in grades 6-12 have been participating in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey annually for over ten years. We continue to see fewer high school students reporting using tobacco and alcohol. For example, the number of students who report never drinking in 2023 is at 43% compared to 47% in 2021. The number of students who report trying cigarettes in 2021 is at 3% compared to 6% in 2017.Questions about electronic tobacco (use of electronic vapor products, such as JUUL) were first added to Wisconsin’s state YRBS in 2017. On the 2023 survey, 24% of students reported they have tried vaping, compared to 33% in 2021. Marijuana use is also trending downward based on what high school students are reporting on the survey. On the 2023 survey, 80% of students reported that they have never tried marijuana compared to 76% in 2021.
How do we compare to other communities?
- 0 % of Sparta High School students reported that they drove a vehicle after drinking alcohol in the past 30 days compared to 6.4% of WI students surveyed in 2021.
- 43% of Sparta High School students reported having had at least one drink of alcohol during their lifetime compared to 51.9% of WI students surveyed in 2021.
- 20% of Sparta High School Students reported ever using marijuana in their life compared to 28% of WI students surveyed in 2021.
- 24% of Sparta High School Students reported they had ever tried vaping/juul/e-cigarettes, compared to 34.4% of WI Students in 2021.