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Surveys
- Annual Tobacco Review : a yearly review of the French tobacco smoking and cessation indicators
- ARAMIS: Attitudes, Perceptions, Aspirations and Motivations associated with experimentation with psychoactive substances
- ENa-CAARUD: National survey of low-threshold structures (CAARUDs)
- EROPP: Survey on Representations, Opinions and Perceptions regarding Psychoactive Drugs
- ESCAPAD: Survey on Health and Use on National Defence and Citizenship Day
- ESPAD: European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs
- HBSC: Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey
- Health Barometer
- RECAP: Common Data Collection on Addictions and Treatments
- SINTES: National Detection System of Drugs and Toxic Substances
- TREND: Emerging trends and New Drugs
Annual Tobacco Review : a yearly review of the French tobacco smoking and cessation indicators
This yearly summary brings together various key indicators on tobacco sales in the tobacconist retailer network, sales of tobacco cessation treatments and the use of tobacco cessation services.
Sales figures are provided by the French Customs Authority (DGDDI) and data on smoking cessation treatments by the Group for the Production and Elaboration of Statistics (GERS). The figures relating to the Tobacco Information Service (TIS) telephone helpline/website and #MoisSansTabac are provided by Santé publique France.
The “Tobacco Review” collects recent figures which vary in nature and origin, presents them as a concise overview, and publishes them within a short time-frame. It has been drawn up monthly by the OFDT since April 2004 (in French only) and is published on OFDT website every 3 months. Click here to access all issues of the “Tobacco Review”: https://www.ofdt.fr/statistiques-et-infographie/tableau-de-bord-tabac/.
ARAMIS: Attitudes, Perceptions, Aspirations and Motivations associated with experimentation with psychoactive substances
From November 2014 to June 2017, the OFDT coordinated a qualitative study among young volunteers, so as to shed light on the factors encouraging (or dissuading) them to experiment with (then use) substances, particularly the most common substances (tobacco, alcohol, cannabis). The analysis, conducted according to the grounded theory method, is based on three types of materials: 125 individual face-to-face interviews with 57 boys and 68 girls aged 13 to 18 (mean age 16.2), with parental agreement; 6 collective interviews with 7 to 12 individuals, i.e. a total of 29 boys and 21 girls aged 15 to 20 (mean age 16.6); direct observation of 150 boys and 70 girls aged 15 to 25 during 4 prevention discussions organised among school children in the Ile-de-France region. The mean age of the young people having taken part in the interviews corresponds to the pivotal age identified in statistical surveys as the period in which regular initial use becomes established (age 16).
More information about the project
ENa-CAARUD: National survey of low-threshold structures (CAARUDs)
Conducted every two or three years since 2006 in all CAARUDs (on mainland France and in French overseas departments), this survey determines the number of users seen in these structures, the characteristics of these users and their use patterns. Each user who enters into contact with the structure during the survey undergoes a face-to-face interview with someone working at the structure. The questions asked are on use (frequency, administration route, equipment-sharing), screening (HIV, HBV and HCV) and social situation (social coverage, housing, level of education, support from friends and family).
The 2015 survey was conducted from 14 to 27 September: 3,129 individuals completed the questionnaire and were included in the analysis. Out of the 167 CAARUDs registered in France, 143 took part in the survey (i.e. 86%). The data collection rate (proportion of users for whom the questionnaire was completed relative to all users encountered during the survey in the CAARUDs having taken part in the survey) was 64% in 2015. Persons visiting the CAARUD, predominantly vulnerable from a socioeconomic perspective, are active drug users who are not undergoing active treatment or have withdrawn from the care system.
EROPP: Survey on Representations, Opinions and Perceptions regarding Psychoactive Drugs
The EROPP survey measures the French population's opinions and perceptions pertaining to psychotropic drugs and the related public actions. The 2013 survey was the fourth. The first three were conducted in 1999, 2002 and 2008. This telephone survey was based on a randomly surveyed, representative sample of the French population aged 15 to 75 years. The sample comprised households with a landline telephone (2,200) and people who used mobile phones only (300 individuals). The data were collected between 27 October and 25 December 2012.
The individuals were questioned about their use, their perception of the level of danger to health, their perception of users and public legal and illegal drug policies.
ESCAPAD: Survey on Health and Use on National Defence and Citizenship Day
Originally conducted on an annual basis from 2000 to 2003, the ESCAPAD survey has been organised on a triennial basis since 2005. It takes place on the National Defence and Citizenship Day (JDC), which has existed since obligatory military service was eliminated in France. Young people participating in a JDC session fill out an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire about their use of legal or illegal psychoactive substances and their health and lifestyle. This is an exhaustive sample.
In 2017, all national armed services centres in mainland France and in overseas French departments were mobilized for a week in April. A total of 43,892 individuals were surveyed and 39,115 questionnaires were analysed in mainland France. These teenagers, mostly aged 17, have the French nationality and are mostly still in school or apprenticeship. On a given day, JDC participation is 90%, but the coverage rate is much higher (people can be summoned on different days because participation is quasi-compulsory to be allowed to register later on for examinations such as university diplomas and the driver licence).
ESPAD: European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs
This survey was initiated Europe-wide in 1995 by the Swedish council for information on alcohol and other drugs with the support of the Council of Europe. It takes place every four years in school settings and targets students aged 16 years - the age at which mandatory schooling is over in the majority of European countries. Data collection takes place in the second quarter of the year of the survey.
Under the auspices of the EMCDDA, the 2015 survey took place in 35 countries, including France for the fourth consecutive year. There was one common questionnaire that focused on use, attitudes and opinions related to drugs. In France, a total of 2,750 students born in 1999, i.e., 15-16 years of age when the 2015 survey was conducted, answered a self-administered questionnaire in a classroom setting in the presence of a health professional. A total of 2,714 questionnaires were analysed.
HBSC: Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey
This is an international survey being conducted every four years since 1982 under the auspices of the European office of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Currently, over 41 countries (including France since 2002) or regions, mainly in Europe, take part and collect standardised information on behaviours that are detrimental to or positive for health in students aged 11, 13 and 15 years. The HBSC survey is self-administered, strictly anonymous and conducted in class under the supervision of a specially trained investigator.
In 2014, 10,434 school-age students from the last year of primary school to the first year of high school were surveyed in public or private establishments in mainland France under contract with the French national education authority.
Health Barometer
The health barometer is a telephone health survey of a representative random sample of the population of mainland France: 25,319 individuals aged 18 to 75 years took part in the 2017 edition. Conducted from January 2017 to August 2017, this survey was the most recent in a series of seven, entitled "Adult health barometers", conducted in 1992, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2014. The survey collects information on various health behaviours and attitudes among French people (such as those pertaining to the use of treatments, depression, vaccination, screening practices, physical activity, violence and sexuality). The survey also questions the use of tobacco, alcohol, cannabis and other psychoactive substances.
RECAP: Common Data Collection on Addictions and Treatments
This system was set up in 2005 and continually collects information about clients seen in National Treatment and Prevention Centres for Addiction (CSAPAs). In the month of April, each centre sends its results from the prior year to the OFDT, which analyses these results. The data collected relate to patients, their current treatment and treatments taken elsewhere, their uses (substances used and substance for which they came in the first place) and their health. The common core questions help harmonise the data collection on a national level and fulfil the requirements of the European Treatment Demand Indicator (TDI) protocol.
In 2017, approximately 208,000 patients seen in 260 outpatient CSAPAs, 15 residential treatment centres and 3 prison based CSAPAs for an addiction-related issue (alcohol, illicit drugs, psychoactive medicines, behavioural addiction) were included in the survey.
SINTES: National Detection System of Drugs and Toxic Substances
The SINTES scheme is intended to document the toxicological composition of illegal substances in circulation in France. The information incorporated in this system comes from two sources:
- the submission to the OFDT of the results of toxicology tests performed on seizures by law enforcement laboratories (French National Forensic Science Institute, Forensic Sciences Institute of the French Gendarmerie and Customs laboratories);
- investigations conducted by the OFDT on samples of substances obtained directly from users. These collections are governed by a strict regulatory framework (loi de modernisation du système de santé du 26 janvier 2016) and obtained by specifically trained survey workers.
TREND: Emerging trends and New Drugs
The aim of the TREND scheme, which was established in 1999, is to provide information about illegal drug use and users, and on emerging phenomena. Emerging phenomena refer either to new phenomena or to existing phenomena that have not yet been detected by other observation systems.
The system is based on data analysed by eight local coordinating sites (Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Metz, Paris, Rennes and Toulouse):
- continuous qualitative data collection by the local coordination network, which has a common data collection and information strategy
- the SINTES scheme, an observation system geared towards detecting and analysing the toxicological composition of illegal substances
- recurring quantitative surveys, particularly among CAARUD users (ENa-CAARUD)
- partner information system results
- thematic quantitative and qualitative investigations that aim to gather more information about a particular subject.
Drugs in Europe
2023 EMCDDA European Drug Report
The European Drug Report 2023: Trends and Developments presents the EMCDDA’s latest analysis of the drug situation in Europe. Focusing on illicit drug use, related harms and drug supply, the report contains a comprehensive set of national data across these themes and key harm-reduction interventions. This report is based on information provided to the EMCDDA by the EU Member States, the candidate country Türkiye, and Norway, in an annual reporting process.
The annual Statistical Bulletin contains the most recent available data on the drug situation in Europe provided by the Member States. These datasets underpin the analysis presented in the European Drug Report. All data may be viewed interactively on screen and downloaded in Excel format.
The European Union and the drug phenomenon
The European Union & the drug phenomenon : Frequently asked questions, joint publication between the EMCDDA and the European Commission, october 2010, 12 p.
