SALT LAKE CITY — Results from a recent survey show that Salt Lake County students outpace national averages when it comes to vaping and using marijuana or alcohol.
Every other year, Utah students in the sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades take part in the Student Health and Risk Prevention survey (SHARP) that includes questions about their outside school activities.
In the latest results, Salt Lake County percentages ran higher than national averages, with the exception of prescription drug use, which matches the national number.
What’s surprising to officials is that they’re getting reports of students not covered in the survey, in the fourth and fifth grades, who are also using alcohol, drugs, and other substances.
Regardless of age, the experts see some common dominators behind student substance abuse.
“More than half of our kids are saying school isn’t meaningful, I don’t see the value in it, that’s our highest risk factor,” said Alysa Stuart, the Substance Use Prevention Program Manager for the Salt Lake County Health Department.
“What that means is if they’re not invested in school if they don’t see the meaning of school," she added, "then they’re more likely to check out and maybe participate in some of these other behaviors that we don’t want them to.”
According to the survey, vaping came out on top with 7.2% of Salt Lake County students admitting to the practice. On the other hand, in averaging all the numbers, Stuart pointed out that at the end of the day, 93% percent of students in the county are not using any kind of substance.
