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Health Officials: Teen Risky Behavior Declining

Risky behavior among teenagers is on the decline in New Mexico.

That's according to a new survey conducted jointly by the New Mexico Department of Health and the New Mexico Public Education Department.

According to the 2013 New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey, binge drinking and cigarette smoking have fallen by half in the last 10 years, and fewer teens are getting in physical fights.

The survey says only 17 percent of high school students binge drink, and only 14 percent report having had a cigarette in the last 30 days.

Drug use, on the other, had has stayed steady over the past few years, although the use of painkillers to get high has fallen from 14 percent in 2009 to 8 percent last year.

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