Giving Compass' Take:

• As TIME magazine reports, teen binge drinking and tobacco use have been steadily declining over the past few years, however there has been a rapid rise in vaping and the usage of e-cigarettes. 

• On suggestion in this article regarding the drinking trend is that teens may be more socially isolated than in the past. Does that theory hold up? What are the concerns over vaping numbers?

• Here's an article on other reasons why teens are drinking and smoking less. 

Teen vaping is reaching new heights of popularity, while underage drinking is plummeting to historic lows, according to new data from the 2018 Monitoring the Future survey, an annual poll of around 45,000 eighth, 10th and 12th graders overseen by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). That may be, in part, because teens aren’t socializing as much as they used to.

NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow says those record-setting peaks and valleys aren’t necessarily related. “It’s not that kids, instead of drinking, may be vaping,” she says — but both of those records may point to the new ways that teenagers today are using substances.

In this year’s survey, approximately 37% of high school seniors said they had used an e-cigarette during the prior year, compared to about 28% in 2017. Rates also climbed among eighth and 10th graders, the survey found.

Read the full article about teen smoking and drinking trends by Jamie Ducharme at TIME.