The consumption of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis is down among French people aged 11 to 15, according to a new survey published on Tuesday May 19. Despite this, it is still above the European average.
- French people aged 11 to 15 consume less alcohol, tobacco and cannabis than a few years ago.
- However, they remain among the first consumers of alcohol among young Europeans.
- At 15, 70% of French people have already drunk alcohol.
The consumption of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis is down among French people aged 11 to 15, according to a survey released by the French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT) this Tuesday, May 19. Despite everything, it remains higher than the European average.
Thus, in 2018, a third of middle school students had already tasted alcohol before entering 6and. If this is less than in 2014 when they were 49.8%, this still remains the highest level of experimentation in Europe at this age, all sexes combined. In detail, 32.1% of 11-year-old French people have already tried alcohol. At 13, 48.6% have already drunk it and at 15, 70%. At the European level, “13-year-old French boys also feature in 1D position while girls of this age are between the 5and and 10and square. At age 15, in France, 7 students out of ten are experimenters compared to 6 out of ten on average for the other countries, thus always positioning these French teenagers in the first half of the ranking, but beyond the 7and square”, details the OFDT. At 11 and 13, young Hungarians are also among the most experimental. At 15, Greece takes the lead in the ranking.
In terms of tobacco, cigarettes are much less popular today with young French people. Currently, 4.1% and 14% of young people aged 11 and 13 have already tried cigarettes. They are 33% at 15 years old against more than half in 2014. Thus, the French of 13 and 15 years old who occupied the first positions in the classification in 2014 are now below 7and rank (they still remain above the European average). Lithuanians and Bulgarians are the earliest in experimenting with tobacco.
Young Bulgarians are the most addicted to cannabis
As for cannabis among 15-year-old adolescents, the increase which had been continuous in France since 2006 fell by 12 points with 16.5% of boys and girls trying for the first time in 2018. At European level, the most addicted to cannabis are the young Bulgarians. High prevalences have also been observed in England, Switzerland, Italy, Germany or Wales. “Young 15-year-old French people are no longer in the very top positions of the 2018 ranking but nevertheless remain in the first third of the most consuming countries”, however notes the OFDT.
Thus, it is especially in terms of alcohol that the French are the most precocious. Among adolescents, a certain malaise, poor relations with parents, academic failure, running away or suicide attempts are factors often associated with excessive alcohol consumption. Furthermore, young people who develop alcohol resistance are more likely to develop alcohol abuse, and early pubertal development could be a risk factor for alcohol dependence.
In the long term, the consumption of alcoholic beverages increases the risk of certain cancers (of the mouth and throat, esophagus, liver, colon and rectum, breast, etc.). Drinking regularly also increases the risk of cerebral hemorrhage, raises blood pressure and increases the risk of hypertension. It can also lead to heart rhythm disturbances and increases the risk of sudden death. Alcohol is also the main cause of cirrhosis of the liver, a chronic and irreversible disease (progressive destruction of cells which are replaced by fibrous tissue). In the more or less long term, this fibrosis can turn into liver cancer. Excessive consumption can also be responsible for mental disorders (depression, etc.) and cognitive disorders (memory disorders, etc.). Finally, remember that the earlier alcohol consumption begins, the greater the deterioration of the brain.
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