Study: U.S. Teens in Middle of Pack Regarding Alcohol, Tobacco Use

Alcohol, tobacco and other drug use are serious problems in the U.S., but American teens are far from world leaders when it comes to smoking and drinking, the New York Times reported Dec. 8.

A new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found that 20 percent of U.S. 15-year-olds reported having been drunk at least twice in their lives, one of the lowest rates in the developed world. By contrast, the rate was 56 percent for girls in Denmark and 59 percent for Danish boys.

In the U.K., which has struggled to contain an explosion in youth drinking in recent years, the rates were higher for 15-year-old girls (50 percent) than boys of the same age (44 percent).

The U.S. also had the lowest smoking rate among 15-year-olds in the developed world, according to the OECD, with 9 percent of girls and 7 percent of boys reporting that they were regular smokers. In Austria, the comparative rates were 30 percent for girls and 24 percent for boys.

However, U.S. teens were the most obese in the developed world, the study found.