A survey of French teenagers has shown a marked drop in in all levels of drug use, with the biggest decline seen in smoking trends.  

The ESCAPAD survey on regular use of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis from the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Tendencies (OFDT) has shown a marked drop in the popularity of these three vices amongst French teenagers.  

Smoking has seen the most dramatic decline, with 15.6% of those polled smoking tobacco daily compared to 25.1% in 2017. Cannabis use has been nearly cut in half, and the number of schoolchildren who have never touched alcohol has risen to one in five. 

This is offset by the steep rise in the use of electronic cigarettes, where usage has tripled in the past five years. For girls, the use of e-cigarettes has risen six times in that time frame.  

The poll also found that health has worsened in this age group, with mental health issues and disorders like anorexia, obesity and anxiety-depressive syndromes on the uptick. These symptoms seem to manifest more readily in children who are heavy consumers of drugs or alcohol, according to the survey.  

A sample of 23,701 young people were polled for the study, with the average age being 17.4 years.  

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