A national study shows that public school students in San Diego are less likely to use tobacco, guzzle too many sodas or forego a seatbelt than the average U.S. teen. That’s the (moderately) good news.

The bad news: They’re more likely to use methamphetamine than their peers countrywide. And being healthier than the average U.S. teen, it turns out, isn’t a very high standard.

The 2007 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, released yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, includes a smattering of data about San Diego teens and the risky things they do (or hopefully, don’t do). The surveys are conducted every two years to monitor risky behaviors among teens.

And if you raise/know/have been a teen, they are guaranteed to terrify you. For instance, 30 percent of San Diego teens in public schools said they were offered, sold or given illegal drugs by someone on school property in the previous year. Among San Diego teens who are sexually active, 43 percent said they didn’t use a condom the last time they had sex.

Check out this table to learn more. There’s also oodles more data here.

EMILY ALPERT

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