2024-01-26 14:34:42
January 26, 2024
According to a recent study, the age of experimentation with cannabis, alcohol and cigarettes is falling among adolescents, with figures which however remain high, particularly regarding alcohol consumption. While the use of electronic cigarettes, on the rise, is confirmed.
Encouraging results. According to the latest national survey of middle and high schools among adolescents on health and substances (EnCLASS 2022), the age of first experimentation with alcohol, tobacco and cannabis is falling among adolescents. Thus, 43.4% of college students declare having already consumed alcohol. This was 60% in 2018. “This experimentation continually increases during schooling, and it concerns almost three-quarters of final year students (73.9%).” specifies the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Tendencies in a press release published on January 25.
So the best, but these figures nevertheless show the extent to which alcohol consumption is democratized among young people since almost one in two middle school students have already experienced it and 3 in 4 high school students. In addition, episodes of occasional heavy drinking concern 14.6% of 4th and 3rd grade students and 34.5% of high school students. Worrying, since alcohol is particularly toxic for brains that have not yet reached adult size.
Passage from third to second, a break
For cigarettes, 11.4% of middle school students tried it in 2022, compared to 21.2% in 2018. From sixth to final year, the results increase. “In 6th grade, tobacco experimentation is 4.6%, then experiences a notable increase upon entry to high school, going from 18.8% in 3rd grade to 30.0% in 2nd grade, i.e. a relative progression of 60%.
Concerning cannabis, the decline in the age of experimentation is less important. Thus, 5.3% of 4th and 3rd grade middle school students have already consumed it at least once in 2022 compared to 6.7% in 2018. “The diffusion increases significantly during the transition to high school, where 16.2% of 2nd year students say they have already used it and almost one in three students in final year (31.2%). »
Daily electronic cigarette use among middle school students
Alcohol and cigarettes are perceived as being rather easily accessible, much more so than cannabis. 50% of Terminale students believe that it would be very easy for them to obtain alcohol and cigarettes if they wanted (49.7% and 45.3% respectively), compared to less than 1 in 5 students in 3rd grade (respectively 17.7% and 15.4%). For cannabis, less than 4% of 4th grade students and 7% of 3rd grade students think it is easy to obtain. The percentage then jumps to 12.3% of Secondary students.
EnCLASS 2022 confirms increasing use of electronic cigarettes. 1.4% of middle school students vape daily, 3.8% of high school students. The latter figure stood at 2.8 of high school students.
Source: EnCLASS 2022, use of psychoactive substances among middle and high school students
Written by: Dorothée Duchemin – Edited by Vincent Roche
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