Authorities in some states, including California and Nevada, are raising the alarm about a new strategy drug dealers are employing to draw younger users into the danger of Meth. Some Meth cooks are now adding coloring and flavoring to the drug to change its look and taste. The best known form of this type of crystal Meth is called Strawberry Quick – tinted red and flavored with strawberry.

Use of illicit drugs and alcohol was more common among current cigarette smokers than among nonsmokers in 2008, as in prior years since 2002. Among persons aged 12 or older, 20.4 percent of past month cigarette smokers reported current use of an illicit drug compared with 4.2 percent of persons who were not current cigarette smokers. Past month alcohol use was reported by 67.4 percent of current cigarette smokers compared with 46.7 percent of those who did not use cigarettes in the past month. The association also was found with binge drinking (44.6 percent of current cigarette smokers vs. 16.5 percent of current nonsmokers) and heavy drinking (16.8 vs. 3.8 percent, respectively).

The rates of past month use of illicit drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol (including binge alcohol) were lower among youths aged 12 to 17 who agreed with these statements about religious beliefs than among those who disagreed. For example, in 2009, past month illicit drug use was reported by 7.4 percent of those who agreed that religious beliefs are a very important part of life compared with 17.6 percent of those who disagreed with that statement.

In 2008, there were 114,000 persons aged 12 or older who had used heroin for the first time within the past 12 months. The average age at first use among recent initiates aged 12 to 49 was 23.4 years in 2008. There were no significant changes in the number of initiates or in the average age at first use from 2007 to 2008. The number of heroin initiates was not significantly different from the number in 2002 (117,000).