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 2021 is at 47% compared to 39.5% in 2017. The number of students who report trying cigarettes in 2021 is at 6% compared to 29.1% 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 2021 survey, 33% of students reported they have tried vaping, compared to 26.1% in 2018. Marijuana use is also trending downward based on what high school students are reporting on the survey. On the 2021 survey, 76% of students reported that they have never tried marijuana compared to 73.3% in 2018.

How do we compare to other communities?

• 5 % of Sparta students reported that they drove a vehicle one or more times while under the influence of alcohol in the past 30 days compared to 4.7% of WI students surveyed in 2021.
• 53% of Sparta students reported having had at least one drink of alcohol during their lifetime compared to 51% of WI students surveyed in 2021. 
• 24% of Sparta students reported ever using marijuana in their life compared to 24.5% of WI students surveyed in 2021.
• 33.3% of Sparta Students reported they had ever tried vaping/juul/e-cigarettes, compared to 32.5% of WI Students in 2021.