41 Many adults who are today addicted to tobacco began smoking as adolescents, and it is estimated that more than 5 million of today's underage smokers will die of tobacco-related illnesses. These consequences underscore the importance of studying patterns of smoking among adolescents. Prior to 1992, smoking had been decreasing among 12 th graders since 1980, when 21 percent of 12 th graders reported that they smoked daily.
Girls are as likely as boys to report smoking on a daily basis.
White students have the highest rates of smoking, followed by Hispanics, and then blacks. Bullets contain references to data that can be found in Table BEH1 . 43 Alcohol use by adolescents is a risk-taking behavior that can have serious consequences, with heavy drinking potentially increasing the likelihood of negative consequences. Despite alcohol's legal status as a controlled substance, it is the most commonly used psychoactive substance among adolescents. Heavy drinking is defined as having 5 or more alcoholic drinks in a row in the 2 weeks prior to survey.