By Mike Cooper

The percentage of American high school students who use cocaine or have tried marijuana rose significantly during the 1990s, but fewer teenagers brought weapons to school or got into fights, federal health officials said today.

A 1999 survey of 15,349 teenagers in grades nine through 12 found that half had at least one drink of alcohol, 35 percent had smoked cigarettes, 27 percent had smoked marijuana and 4 percent tried cocaine in the month before the survey.

One third of the students had five or more drinks of alcohol at least once, according to the confidential survey, conducted every two years by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Figures for cocaine and marijuana use were higher than those from a 1993 study, the CDC said.

Teenagers at Risk

“While we are making progress in many areas, too many high school students are still practicing behaviors that place them at risk for unnecessary health, education and social problems,��?said Laura Kann of the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health.

Kann, however, noted the percentage of students who had been involved in a physical fight decreased to 36 percent in 1999 from 43 percent early in the decade. Seventeen percent had carried a weapon such as a gun, knife or club in the 30 days before the 1999 survey, a 34-percent decrease from 1991.

Half the students had engaged in sexual intercourse and 16 percent said they had already experienced four or more sexual partners, according to the survey. Fifty-eight percent used a condom during their last intercourse, up 26 percent from 1991.

“We remain concerned at the percentage of high school students that are practicing behaviors that will place them at risk for serious injury, sexually transmitted diseases and chronic diseases later in life, such as cancer and heart disease,”Kann said.

Reason to Feel Optimistic

The CDC said 10 percent of the students were overweight and only 35 percent engaged in vigorous physical activity for at least 20 minutes at least three days a week. The number of students who never or rarely wore seatbelts declined 37 percent between 1991 and 1999.

“There is reason to feel optimistic about many of the trends in risk behaviors among our young people. However, we have much left to do,“CDC director Dr. Jeffrey Koplan said in a statement.

Other findings of the survey:

 percent of teens had ridden in the past month with a driver who had been drinking alcohol.

15 percent had used inhalants during their lifetime and 9 percent had used methamphetamines.

71 percent did not participate in a daily physical education class.

(From ABCNEWS)