A large study of more than 600,000 U.S. veterans shows that GLP-1 drugs were associated with a 14 percent lower risk of developing new substance use disorders. Among people with existing substance use disorders, overdoses dropped by 40 percent and substance-related deaths were cut in half.
Fatal overdoses among 20- to 29-year-olds decreased by 47 percent. The number of fatal overdoses among people under 35 years fell from over 31,000 in 2021 to approximately 16,690 in 2024.
Alcohol consumption among middle school students in the US has decreased from 46 to 13 percent since 1997. Marijuana use is at its lowest in three decades among high school students. Nicotine vaping among seniors has decreased from 35 to 21 percent since 2020.