Stress, anxiety, sleep disorders … We know it: confinement was a difficult period on the psychological level. Experts from Public Health France wanted to know how the addictions of French people have evolved during confinement. And the results of the survey are not entirely positive …
On the smoking side, experts from Public Health France have discovered that about a quarter of smokers (27%) have seen their tobacco consumption “increase” during confinement. On average, tobacco addicts thus smoked 5 more cigarettes per day: this increase particularly concerns 25-34 year olds (47%) and those working from home (37%).
Among the remaining smokers, 55% declare that their tobacco consumption has “remained stable” during the confinement … and it even decreased for 19% of the respondents!
What about alcohol? The figures from Public Health France are more encouraging. Thus, 65% of regular drinkers affirm that their alcohol consumption “remained stable” during confinement: 24% even managed to reduce it!
Tobacco and alcohol: addictions boosted by boredom, stress and inactivity
On the other hand, 11% of regular alcohol drinkers believe that their consumption has “progressed” during the period of confinement: among them, 51% identified a higher frequency of consumption (understand: drinks more often during the week), 10% observed an increase in the number of drinks drunk on consumption days (understand: more drinks at a time) … and 23% experienced an increase in these two parameters.
According to Public Health France, the increase in alcohol consumption during confinement concerns in particular those under the age of 50, individuals living in a large city (with more than 100,000 inhabitants) and parents of young children (aged under 16).
How to explain this increase in addictions? Unsurprisingly, the reasons are to be found on the side of the psychological impact of confinement: “boredom, lack of activity, stress and pleasure are the main reasons mentioned by smokers or alcohol users who have increased their consumption“, notes Viêt Nguyen Thanh, head of the addictions unit at the prevention and health promotion department at Public Health France.”We also note that the increase (both for tobacco and alcohol) is correlated with the risk of anxiety and depression.“
Tobacco, alcohol: do you have questions about your consumption? For smoking, do not hesitate to contact (free of charge) Tabac Info Service by phone at 3639 or via the dedicated application. For alcohol, go to www.alcool-info-service.fr to evaluate your consumption, or contact (free of charge) on 0 980 980 930.
Source: Public Health France press release
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