Underage drinking wanes as teens embrace more isolated addictions

Recent surveys show underage drinking subsiding as experts note teenagers are enjoying more solitary addictions to marijuana and digital screens. The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported last month that 3 million fewer people ages 12 to 20 reported consuming alcohol during 30-day stretches in 2023 than in 2014. The agency, a branch of the Health and Human Services Department, also found in its annual survey that nearly 2 million fewer young people over the same period were binge drinkers and 638,000 fewer described themselves as heavy...