EROPP survey

Since 1999, the OFDT has been quantifying the opinions and perceptions of the French population on drugs and public policies using the Survey on Representations, Opinions and Perceptions regarding Psychoactive Drugs (EROPP).

Background

Since 1999, the OFDT has carried out five editions of the EROPP survey in 1999, 2002, 2008, 2012 and 2018. These scientific studies provide a better understanding of French people’s opinions on public policy, prevention, and information on both licit and illicit drugs.

In 2023, the survey underwent a major overhaul. In order to monitor changes in the levels of use of licit and illicit substances and gambling practices in the adult population, the methodology has been developed, in particular with a larger random sample.

Partnerships

The survey is carried out by the OFDT, which is responsible for coordination and scientific responsibility. The telephone questionnaires are administered by an opinion polling company.

Objectives

The EROPP 2023 survey was being developed with the dual aim of measuring changes in the French population’s opinions on psychotropic substances and their users over the last 25 years, and also documenting their social representations of the issues at stake in the public debate (legalisation of cannabis, perception of the risks associated with the consumption of alcohol, tobacco or cannabis, the legalisation of the various psychoactive substances, etc.).

As part of this edition, the EROPP survey also aimed to measure levels of drug use (both licit and illicit) and to examine the gambling practices of the French population.

Method

As with previous surveys, the new version of EROPP is conducted by telephone. While the first versions of the survey questioned a representative sample of 2 000 to 3 000 individuals, the sample now comprises of 15 000 French-speaking adults aged 18 to 75. The survey method is based on a random generation of landline and mobile telephone numbers, and participants are selected via a two-stage random survey on landlines (random selection of one eligible individual per household) and an interview of the person who pick up the phone on a mobile.

Results

Brissot. A., Chyderiotis S., Janssen. E., Le Nézet O., Philippon A., Spilka S., Drugs: perceptions of substances, public policies and users. Tendances n° 131, 2019, 8 p.

Video presentation (in French) of the survey conducted in 2023