Trends in Lifetime use of Tobacco, Alcohol, and Cannabis among Arkansas Teens from 1995 to 2013.

Trends in adolescent use of substance can inform public policy and preventive efforts. Using data from the Arkansas samples in the CDC's your Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS) from 1995 to 2013 we report and test for trends regarding use of tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis. Trends were also described by gender and race/ethnicity. Lifetime use of tobacco among Arkansas high school students significantly declined from 74.4% in 1995 to 52.1% in 2013 - a decline observed across gender and race. Lifetime use of alcohol declined from 79.3% in 1995 to 67.3% in 2013 - similar except among African-American females which showed no significant decline but remained the group with the lowest reported use of alcohol. Lifetime use of cannabis showed no significant change from 38.8% in 1995 to 36.9% in 2013 - except for African-American males with a significant decline from 47.8% in 1995 to 36.6% in 2013. While adolescent use of tobacco and alcohol has declined in the last 20 years, the use of cannabis has remained stable. These trends point to the success of public policies targeting teen use of cigarettes and alcohol while presenting a challenge regarding the perception and use of cannabis.