OFDT surveys and monitoring schemes

The French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT), with its multi-disciplinary expertise, carries out its work through surveys of the general or specific population, as well as through observation and socio-health alerts involving field workers throughout France, and by monitoring indicators produced by other public bodies.

ASTRACAN research

ASTRACAN is a collective research effort focused on public action for the regulation of cannabis in North America (2019-2023).

This research project analyses, from a comparative perspective, the regimes put in place in the United States (Washington State, Oregon, California) and Canada (British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec), their aims and challenges, as well as changes in the application of new cannabis legislations and the effects of cannabis regulation policies.

Barometer surveys of Santé publique France

Since the early 1990s, the French Public Health Agency has been conducting a series of surveys called “Health Barometers”, in partnership with a range of health professionals. These surveys examine the various health behaviours and attitudes of French people aged 11 to 85.

Since 2000, the OFDT has been running the ‘addictions’ section of the Barometer, measuring levels of drug use and, since 2010, gambling practices.

The Barometer makes it possible to describe the use of psychoactive substances within the general population, to assess the links with other factors and to carry out regional analyses of this use. This survey completes the OFDT’s adolescent population survey.

CIPPAL survey

In 2022, the OFDT worked on a prefiguration study for an international comparison of policies to control the attractiveness and accessibility of alcohol. The OFDT is now coordinating (2023-2025) a comparative study on Audiovisual Digital Alcohol Marketing (ADAM), which is being carried out in France, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, and Switzerland.

EnCLASS survey

The National Adolescent Health and Substance Use Survey in Middle and High Schools (ENCLASS) is the result of a merger, carried out for the first time in France in 2018, of two international surveys carried out in schools: Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) and European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD).

EROPP survey

In 2023, the OFDT carried out the 6th Survey on Representations, Opinions and Perceptions regarding Psychoactive Drugs (EROPP) on the French adult population. The survey covers the representations and opinions of the French population regarding licit (alcohol, tobacco) and illicit (cannabis, cocaine, heroin, etc.) psychoactive substances, as well as related public actions.

ESCAPAD survey

In March 2022, the OFDT, with the support of the Youth and National Service Directorate (DSNJ), carried out the 9th Survey on Health and Drug Use on National Defence and Citizenship Day (ESCAPAD). More than 22 000 17-year-olds responded to an anonymous self-administered questionnaire on their health, their use of psychoactive substances, and their addictive behaviour.

ESSPRI survey

In 2023, the OFDT carried out the first edition of the Survey on Health and Substances in Prison (ESSPRI), which aims to gain a better understanding of the living conditions and health of people in prison.

RECAP/TDI data collection

Set up in 2005 by the OFDT, the common data collection on addictions and treatments (RECAP) is an ongoing collection of data on patients seeking help from facilities and professionals providing specific care for drug users.

RECAP is an adaptation to the French situation of the EMCDDA’s European protocol for recording requests for treatment (TDI or Treatment Demand Indicator).

SINTES system

The National Identification System for Toxics and Substances (SINTES) scheme is a health monitoring tool of the composition of psychoactive products collected in close proximity to drug users.

In addition, SINTES contributes to the Early Warning System (EWS) of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), and the national “Signal Drogues” alert system coordinated by the National health directorate of the Ministry of Health (DGS).

Tobacco smoking and tobacco cessation

A yearly review of the French tobacco smoking and cessation indicators.

TREND scheme

The Emerging Trends and New Drugs (TREND) scheme, set up by the OFDT in 1999, identifies and describes trends and emerging phenomena related to illicit psychotropic substances or those diverted from their intended use.

It is based on a network of eight metropolitan areas (Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Metz, Paris, Rennes and Toulouse) and the Réunion Island, as well as the SINTES (National Identification System for Toxics and Substances) observation system, which focuses on studying the toxicological composition of illicit substances.