A paper published this Friday, December 16, led by the WHO European Office, indicates that the consumption of tobacco, cannabis and alcohol among French students has dropped significantly in 2021.
Numbers to know
The researchers interviewed a sample of 2,000 high school students in France. They concluded “accelerating declines in tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use among young people,” in a paper published by the French Observatory of Drugs and Addiction Trends (OFTD) survey. Of the young people surveyed, 64.1% said they had already used alcohol, 29.1% cigarettes and 9.1% cannabis. These figures were respectively 83.2%, 51.8% and 23.9% in 2010.
The study was conducted by several French organizations, including OFTD, INSERM and the School for Advanced Study in Public Health (EHESP). According to national media such as Le Figaro, the study is part of an international research program overseen by the WHO. The researchers also noted a decrease in recent or daily use of tobacco, cannabis, or alcohol. These figures confirm the overall downward trend over the past decade.
> Read also: Towards the legalization of recreational cannabis in Germany
Beware of electronic cigarettes
The researchers call for vigilance regarding e-cigarettes, which are “increasingly popular among French teenagers.” For them, this phenomenon is “alarming”. Indeed, there is a large proportion (8.0%) of college students who are increasingly experimenting with this type of cigarette without touching so-called classic cigarettes.
We remind you that the European Commission, in particular, proposed to ban flavored flavors (read here).
> All French news on LINFO.re