Diversity in European Drug Policy

ARTICLES: : 1. Editorial 2. Karl-Heinz Reuband - Drug Policies and Drug Prevalence: The Role of Demand and Supply 3. Dirk J. Korf, Ruud Bless and Nienke Nottelman - Urban Drug Problems, Policymakers and the General Public 4. Einar Ødegard - Comparative Research in the Drug Field 5. Jan J.M. van Dijk - The Narrow Margins of the Dutch Drugs Policy: A Cost-Benefit Analysis 6. Henrik Tham - Swedish Drug Policy: A Successful Model? 7. Laurence Simmat-Durand - Latest Trends in French Policy on Drugs 8. Martin Killias, Marcelo Aebi and Denis Ribeaud - Effects of Heroin Prescription on Police Contacts among Drug-Addicts 9. Current Issues: No More Excuses: A New Approach to Tackling Youth Crime in England and Wales; Commentaries by: Frieder Dünkel, Henri Giller, Esther Gimenez-Salinas Colomer, Josine Junger-Tas 10. Crime Institute Profile: The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA

Peer substance use overestimation among French university students: a cross-sectional survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Normative misperceptions have been widely documented for alcohol use among U.S. college students. There is less research on other substances or European cultural contexts. This study explores which factors are associated with alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use misperceptions among French college students, focusing on substance use.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>12 classes of second-year college students (n = 731) in sociology, medicine, nursing or foreign language estimated the proportion of tobacco, cannabis, alcohol use and heavy episodic drinking among their peers and reported their own use.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Peer substance use overestimation frequency was 84% for tobacco, 55% for cannabis, 37% for alcohol and 56% for heavy episodic drinking. Cannabis users (p = 0.006), alcohol (p = 0.003) and heavy episodic drinkers (p = 0.002), are more likely to overestimate the prevalence of use of these consumptions. Tobacco users are less likely to overestimate peer prevalence of smoking (p = 0.044). Women are more likely to overestimate tobacco (p < 0.001) and heavy episodic drinking (p = 0.007) prevalence. Students having already completed another substance use questionnaire were more likely to overestimate alcohol use prevalence (p = 0.012). Students exposed to cannabis prevention campaigns were more likely to overestimate cannabis (p = 0.018) and tobacco use (p = 0.022) prevalence. Other identified factors are class-level use prevalences and academic discipline.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Local interventions that focus on creating realistic perceptions of substance use prevalence could be considered for cannabis and alcohol prevention in French campuses.</p

Social influence on post-drinking risky sexual behaviours: evidence in France and South Korea

International audienceAbstract Background Post-drinking risky sexual behaviours are at the conjunction of the dual risks of sexually transmitted infections and further problematic substance use, necessitating contextual analysis for determinants that promote these behaviours. This study examines the influence of social groups on post-drinking risky sexual behaviours in different cultural samples. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among young adults aged 18-30 in France and in South Korea in 2023-2024 (n = 998). A construct of post-drinking risky sexual behaviours includes 3 types: having sex without condoms, having sex with occasional partners, and having transactional sex. Perceived drinking norms were measured as a proportion. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted after controlling for sociodemographic factors. Results Young adults who reported that their social group had a higher proportion of drinkers were more likely to engage in a wider range of post-drinking risky sexual behaviours (aOR=1.02 [95%CI 1.01-1.03] in France; 1.01 [1.01-1.03] in Korea). Young adults in social groups who had experienced two types of risky sexual behaviours were more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviours after drinking (5.13 [2.21-14.1] in France; 10.65 [5.86-19.8] in Korea), compared to young adults in social groups with no experience. Young adults in social groups who had experienced all three types of risky sexual behaviours had a 10 times higher likelihood of engaging in post-drinking risky sexual behaviours in the French sample (10.12 [3.69-31.4]) and a 16 times higher likelihood in the Korean sample (16.0 [7.31-35.8]). Conclusions Alcohol-related risky sexual behaviours among young adults were found to be significantly associated with their social group’s drinking and risky sexual behaviours, across different cultural settings. More attention should be paid to direct/indirect influence of social groups on health risk behaviours. Key messages • The influence of social groups on alcohol-related risky sexual behaviours is significant regardless of cultural setting. • Peer and social norms-based health promotion is recommended to prevent IST and HIV/AIDS

Alcohol consumption and risky sexual behaviours: consistent patterns in France and South Korea

International audienceAbstract Background Despite the concurrent increase in harmful alcohol use and risky sexual behaviours associated with STIs and HIV/AIDS among young adults, their relationship remains inconsistent due to the inherent influence of sociodemographic and cultural factors on drinking and sexual practices. This study aims to examine the relationship between alcohol consumption and risky sexual behaviours and cross-validate this relationship in France and South Korea. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey among young adults aged 18 to 30 in France and in South Korea in 2023-2024 (n = 998; 489 in France, 509 in Korea). A spearman partial correlation and a z-test on Fisher-transformed correlation coefficients were used to determine the relationship between alcohol use and risky sexual behaviours, as well as the consistency of this relationship across both samples. Results After controlling for age, gender, occupation, education, and perceived socioeconomic status, a positive correlation was found between the age of alcohol initiation and the age at first sexual intercourse in both samples (r=.17 in France, r=.28 in Korea; p &lt; 0.001). Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) score and the frequency of drunkenness showed positive correlations with the number of sexual partners (r=.19, r=.26 in France; r=.19, r=.23 in Korea; p &lt; 0.001). These two alcohol use indicators were also correlated with the frequency of inconsistent condom use (r=.15, r=.12 in France; r=.06, r=.14 in Korea; p &lt; 0.001). The Z test confirmed that there is no significant difference in all correlation coefficients between the French and Korean samples. (p &gt; 0.05, 95% CI). Conclusions An integrated health intervention aimed at simultaneously addressing harmful alcohol use and risky sexual behaviours is warranted to prevent high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among young adults. Key messages • Recent data support that alcohol use is associated with risky sexual behaviours among young adults. • This relationship is consistent regardless of different sociodemographic and cultural settings

Syndromes de sevrage des nouveau-nés de mères toxicomanes substituées par la méthadone ou la buprénorphine haut dosage ; Etude multicentrique de 246 cas

International audiencePerinatal prognosis of pregnant drug abusers is better with intensive prenatal care and substitution maintenance programs. There is a large body of data in the literature on methadone (MTD), but very little on high-dose buprenorphine (HDB). The objective of this study was to compare 2 groups of pregnant women maintained on MTD or HDB for perinatal events. Study design. - Prospective multicentric study; all neonates (NN) whose mothers has been maintained during pregnancy on MTD or HDB were included by 34 French perinatal centers with specialized staff for care of these pregnant drug abusers. Results. - Two hundred and forty-six pregnant women were included: 93 (38%) MTD and 153 (62%) HDB. Social and perinatal data, prenatal care and factors correlated with poor prenatal care are reported. Forty-six percent of the pregnant women had good prenatal care; 88% had peridural analgesia; mean birthweight=2838g; mean gestational age=38.7 weeks; prematurityLe pronostic périnatal des femmes enceintes et de leurs enfants est nettement amélioré par une prise en charge spécialisée et la prescription d'un traitement de substitution. De nombreuses données existent pour la méthadone (MTD) mais peu pour la buprénorphine haut-dosage (BHD). L'objectif de cette étude est de comparer 2 groupes de femmes enceintes substituées par MTD ou BHD. Méthode. - Étude prospective multicentrique incluant tous les nouveau-nés nés de mère substituée pendant la grossesse par MTD ou BHD dans 34 centres français du Groupe d'Études « Grossesse et Addictions » (GEGA) ayant une politique de prise en charge des femmes enceintes toxicomanes par une équipe pluridisciplinaire et en réseau ville-hôpital. Résultats. - Deux cent quarante-six femmes ont été incluses dont 93 (38 %) sous MTD et 153 (62 %) sous BHD. Les données sociales et périnatales, les conditions de suivi de la grossesse et les facteurs corrêlés à un mauvais suivi sont décrits. Globalement, 46 % des femmes ont été bien suivies ; 88 % ont bénéficié d'une analgésie péridurale ; poids de naissance moyen du nouveau-né = 2 838 g ; âge gestationnel moyen = 38,7 SA ; prématurit