According to this survey, ecstasy use is finally beginning to decline among adolescents, the proportion using any illicit drug is also down, the proportion drinking alcohol has dropped, and the proportion reporting cigarette smoking continues to drop sharply. The survey, conducted at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, has tracked substance use among American high school seniors for 28 years and among 8th-and 10th-graders for 12 years. In 2002, about 44,000 students in nearly 400 secondary schools across the country participated in the scientific survey, often described as the most reliable source of information on adolescent substance use.