“It was just once”, “I quit whenever I want”, “it helps me de-stress” … How do you know if your consumption of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis or LSD is likely to cost you a day your studies, your car, your relationship, your health? While many prevention messages insist on the excessively high figures for drug use among young people, few are interested in the consequences it can have on their lives. This is the particularity of the first barometer of Macif (insurance group) on youth addictions, produced by Ipsos and unveiled this Tuesday.
A questionnaire, carried out in March 2021, which took place in a particular context (curfew, distance learning), which could bias the results. “We are waiting for the second wave of this barometer to see if the figures change,” warns Adeline Merceron, head of health activity at Ipsos. 20 minutes has learned three lessons.
A significant and plural consumption
Unsurprisingly, alcohol tops the list of substances consumed (84% of young people drink it), ahead of tobacco (56%) and cannabis (36%). More rarely discussed, hard drugs (ecstasy, MDMA, GHB, poppers, nitrous oxide or LSD) affect fewer young people: 5% take them regularly. A proportion that is found for the regular use of crack and heroin.
“We know that at the level of addictions, it is in adolescence that everything is played, assures Emmanuel Petit, in charge of prevention at Macif. Anyway, they are going to test these substances, so they might as well give them the keys to understanding how to do it in a secure environment. »Interesting detail, Ipsos also looked at the addiction to screens: 41% of young people surveyed say they spend more than 6 hours a day in front.
The figures highlight poly-consumption “When you take a hard drug, you systematically drink alcohol and smoke”, summarizes Adeline Marceron. A “cocktail” that poses a problem: “there can be interaction between substances, notes Cécile Masset, school doctor at the Catholic University of Lille. When someone tries to wean you, there is a risk of transfer of dependence; for example, if a young person stops drinking, he will smoke more. Moreover, this interactivity is found with screens: those who regularly take a substance spend an infinite amount of time in front of them.
A low risk perception
Second lesson: young people are not aware of the dangers they run. For hard drugs, the perception of risk is high, but it drops for tobacco and cannabis (at the same level). Alcohol and screens seem totally trivialized. And the more regularly they use substances, the more young people reduce the risk. “There is a real problem with alcohol, warns Fanny Sarkissian, of the Federation of general student associations (Fage). With the cliché of the alcoholic who would be an old person drinking every day and alone. But we often meet young people affected by occasional heavy drinking [le binge drinking]. “
As we know, talking about the dangers of alcohol, cannabis or tobacco to teenagers in the midst of rebellion is by no means easy. Because at 18, the prospect of lung cancer seems remote, even surreal. “The problem is that you get used to these substances,” warns Jean-Pierre Couteron, psychologist. We do not realize that we are increasing the doses ”. “Often, these young people have an illusion of control, adds Jessica Sautron, psychologist and therapist specializing in the family. But awareness comes at the time of bankruptcy: a separation, a license withdrawal, the loss of a job. »When the addiction is well established and it leaves consequences.
The study especially emphasizes the short-term consequences of these addictions: 52% of young people have lost control of themselves at least once during the last 12 months, after having consumed one of these substances. And one in five at least ten times a year. Surprisingly, 14% from cannabis, 7% from hard drugs… and 61% from interactive screens. With what impact? Lots of bad trips, academic and professional failure for 30%, and isolation for 27%. Finally, for 20%, this generally festive consumption causes suicidal thoughts, 29% physical and sexual assault, and 14% a traffic accident.
Little useful prevention messages
“A disturbing panorama”, synthesizes Adeline Marceron. Who questions how to better prevent this population. Three quarters of the young people questioned know the prevention messages, but a minority adapts their behavior after raising awareness… With nuances depending on the substance: half of tobacco and cannabis users have thought about their behavior, compared to 65% of drug users hard.
Insufficient, estimates Macif, which launched since Saturday a first campaign on social networks. It is based on interactive videos from influencer Ludovik (an investigative outing in which you are the heroes, comic version, where you will have to help him dismantle a cartel…). Another campaign focuses on unscheduled obsolescence. “We show them products that are close to their hearts, a telephone, a console, and how they can be destroyed by addictions,” explains Emmanuel Petit.
“A young person hears things better when it is a peer speaking,” assures Fanny de la Fage. We defend an approach to risk reduction without prohibition, without guilt and without your moralizing tone. “We must accompany our messages with counter-proposals,” adds Jean-Pierre Couteron, spokesperson for the Addiction Federation. Example? “We must not forget the hierarchy of products and modes of consumption,” he replies. It is not the same thing to take such and such alcohol, in such a context and at such an age. If they take these substances to relax, there is a product that is very fashionable today: relaxation. “