Decline in alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use continues among French 17-year-olds

The use of drugs, particularly cannabis, alcohol and tobacco, is declining among 17-year-olds, according to the latest figures published by the French Drugs and Addictive Tendencies watchdog.

A cannabis user rolls a joint. © AFP - Alain Jocard

For this study, the OFDT interviewed 23,000 17-year-olds in March 2022.

Fewer than 50 percent of those questioned admitted having smoked at least one cigarette in their lifetime. This compares with 59 percent in the previous survey released in 2017.

Fifteen percent of 17-year-olds use tobacco daily (at least one cigarette each day), compared to 25 percent five years earlier.

E-cigarette use is increasing

E-cigarette use increased between 2017 and 2022: last year, almost six out of ten 17-year-olds had already experimented with electronic cigarettes, compared to 52 percent in 2017. 

In 2022, 6 percent were regular vapers, compared to 2 percent in 2017. 

These increases are driven by a major rise in female consumption. 

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For the first time, the survey says, the use of electronic cigarettes has exceeded that of tobacco cigarettes. 

The study reveals an increasingly early experimentation: the average age of the first use of an electronic cigarette in 2022 was 15 years, against 15.4 years in 2017.

According to the survey, more and more 17 year-olds have never drunk alcohol: there were almost one in five in 2022 (19.4 percent), compared to 14.3 percent in 2017. 

The OFDT also notes a strong decrease in cannabis use, regardless of the frequency of consumption. 

While almost half of 17-year-olds had already experimented with cannabis in 2014, only 30 percent had done so in 2022. 

For the first time, the watchdog looked at the consumption of the plant extract cannabidiol (CBD). According to the survey, 17 percent of 17-year-olds have already used CBD and 14 percent did so in the last twelve months.

More alcohol among apprentices

The survey also looks at differences in consumption according to school status. 

Among those who drop out of secondary education, 44 percent smoke daily, compared with 22 percent of 17-year-olds who stay at school.

"The consumption of alcoholic beverages is more widespread among apprentices", says the OFDT. 

18 percent of apprentices admit to regular alcohol use, compared to 6 percent of pupils in general and technological secondary schools. 

Among the factors explaining the figures are changes in the social environment of young people, changes in their perception of drugs, the effectiveness of prevention campaigns and action by adults.

The OFDT emphasises that the data collected in 2022 comes after two years of the Covid-19 health crisis, during which the sociability conducive to drug experimentation was limited.

Mental health deteriorating

Although young people reduced their use of psychoactive products during this period, their health deteriorated, particularly in the field of mental health. 

Disorders related to anorexia, obesity and depressive anxiety syndromes have increased significantly since 2020.