Cannabis use among U.S. adults remained at or near record levels in 2025, while nicotine vaping and nicotine-pouch use also remained elevated, according to new national survey findings released Wednesday by the National Institutes of Health.
The findings come from the latest Monitoring the Future Panel Study, an ongoing University of Michigan study supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The study tracks substance-use patterns among adults ages 19 to 65 and found that cannabis and several forms of nicotine use continued to stand out even as alcohol and traditional cigarette use remained comparatively low.
Cannabis Use Remains Elevated
The latest results show that several measures of adult cannabis use remained at or near their highest recorded levels in 2025, continuing a longer-term increase documented by the Monitoring the Future study.
Among adults ages 35 to 50, daily cannabis use increased from 6.6% in 2024 to 8.5% in 2025, according to the NIH.
The Monitoring the Future project maintains national data on substance use among adults and publishes prevalence and trend information through its adult substance-use data. The panel study surveys approximately 20,000 adults ages 19 to 65.
Cannabis vaping also remained near historically high levels in the new data.
The findings do not mean that every age group experienced an increase. Rather, the researchers found that cannabis use remained elevated overall, with some measures reaching or approaching records depending on the age group and type of use.
Nicotine Use Is Shifting Beyond Cigarettes
Nicotine use is also changing.
The study found that nicotine vaping remained near record levels in 2025. Among young adults, the NIH reported that past-30-day nicotine vaping has tripled since 2017, while past-year vaping has nearly doubled over that period.
Nicotine pouches are another increasingly common form of nicotine consumption. The latest survey found that past-year nicotine-pouch use among adults more than doubled since researchers first began collecting data on the products in 2023.
The changes come as conventional cigarette use remains relatively low compared with earlier decades.
Among adults ages 19 to 30, the study found that 8.3% reported smoking cigarettes in the previous 30 days in 2025. The corresponding figure for adults ages 55 to 65 was 10.6%.
Alcohol Use Continues To Decline Among Younger Adults
The trends for alcohol were notably different.
The latest findings show that alcohol use among younger adults remained low by historical standards. Among adults ages 19 to 30, measures including past-year drinking, past-30-day drinking, and high-intensity drinking were at or near historic lows, according to the NIH.
High-intensity drinking in the study refers to consuming 10 or more drinks in a row.
The findings therefore show a changing pattern in adult substance use: cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption have declined or remained low in several measures, while cannabis and alternative forms of nicotine have remained high or increased.
Other Drug-Use Measures Changed
The study also identified changes involving several other substances.
Among adults ages 19 to 30, reported past-year heroin use increased from 0.2% in 2024 to 0.6% in 2025. Although the increase was statistically significant, the 2025 level remained below the study’s historical high of 0.7%, recorded in 2013.
Past-year nonmedical use of sleeping medications among young adults also increased, rising from 2.0% in 2024 to 3.0% in 2025.
At the same time, reported psychedelic use among young adults declined from 8.9% in 2024 to 7.2% in 2025, according to the study’s results.
The Monitoring the Future study has collected information about substance use and related attitudes for decades. Its adult panel is designed to follow changes in substance-use behavior as participants move through adulthood.
Monitoring Remains Important
Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said the findings show both declining and increasing substance-use patterns that require continued monitoring.
“It is reassuring to continue to see relatively low smoking rates and a continuing decline in alcohol use among adults. At the same time, rising rates of cannabis, nicotine, and certain other drug use warrant attention. Continued monitoring is vital for understanding the changing drug landscape so that we can develop effective interventions to support public health.”
The 2025 results provide a current snapshot of how substance use is changing among American adults. While cigarette smoking and alcohol use remain substantially different from historical patterns, cannabis, vaping, and nicotine pouches have become increasingly prominent parts of the nation’s substance-use landscape.
The underlying data and trend tables are available through the Monitoring the Future Panel Study’s adult substance-use database.
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