frogsmoke.com

First the good news: they smoke less cigarettes

Young French between 17 and 25 years are decidedly less keen on cigarettes. In 2000, 41% of youngsters smoked every day, but in 2005 they were only 33%.

Now the bad news: they get pissed and stoned more than ever before.

At the age of 17, one in ten French youngsters confirm they get drunk at least ten times per year, up from 6.4% in 2000. Fifty percent of them have tried cannabis, and one in ten smokes pot regularly.

Those number are slightly up from five years ago, but the same does not apply to the use of hard drugs.

At 17 years, one in eight young French have used illegal substances, mostly poppers. Ecstacy, amphetamines and cocaine are on the have-tried list of 2.5% of young people, up from 0.9% in 2000.

Source (in French)