Survey: French affected by alcohol in their lives

If the French have limited knowledge of the impact of alcohol on health, they feel especially affected by alcohol consumption in their lives, according to a survey conducted by INPE (National Institute for Prevention and education to health), parallel to the States General of alcohol.
That think about the French?
Launched at the initiative of the Minister of Health and Solidarity, the States General were held in all French regions. This large public debate was the main gathering of the French word to associate the future choices of public health objective. It ended with a day of restoration and synthesis, which was held at La Défense in Paris.

On this occasion, INPE has conducted a survey of a large sample of French, to measure opinions, attitudes and knowledge of citizens on alcohol. The results of this study indicate that, if the French are in favor of government action on alcohol, their knowledge of the subject, however, remain to be improved.

The French are concerned, in many ways, by the consumption of alcohol in their lives. Nearly a parent of two (46%) believes he still has something to say about the drinking of his adolescent child, whatever the age of the latter. More than half of French (53%) know someone in his personal or professional circle, he thinks she saw a problem with alcohol. In addition, 38% admit to having personally suffered from alcohol to a person close to them.

When asked about their confidence in the various information on alcohol issuers, French cite first the doctors (86% have their "very" or "somewhat" confident) and the state ( 69%).

The actions of governments and associations to fight against the consequences of alcohol abuse is viewed favorably: for a large majority, information campaigns and preventive measures are useful to consider its consumption alcohol (83%) and to encourage behavior change side product (77%). The draconian nature that is sometimes attributed to them is expressed in less than a third of French (29%) believes that these actions go against their freedom to act. The majority (58%) believes, however, that the government did make "not enough" in this area, which indirectly confirms the legitimacy of public action.

A specific example illustrates this: it is the application of a health message or symbol on bottles of alcohol, in order to inform the public of the risks associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy, effective since the publication of a decree in October 2006. A 2 French heard of this and the vast majority (90%) approve. Communication conducted on this topic also seems to have paid off, as 47% of the French believe that the risk to the fetus begin from the first glass, against only 25% in November 2004.

In another area, it is 59% of French people are shocked that we can buy alcohol in service stations. Although beverages that are sold are not necessarily immediately consumed by drivers, this paradox is highlighted by a clear majority of respondents.

Ignorance of the risks associated with excessive consumption
Only one in four correctly cites the threshold of hazardous drinking for men (three drinks per day), and 3 for women (2 drinks per day). Nearly half overestimates these thresholds or claims not to know. Similarly, the equivalence between the different alcohols are still largely unknown: 56% believe that a glass of whiskey (2.5 cl) contains more alcohol than a half of beer (25 cl.) Only 29% know that the two contain the same amount of pure alcohol, namely 10g.

The nature of the risks of alcohol is also known to inaccurately. 35% of French, road accidents are the leading cause of death related to alcohol. Cardiovascular diseases are cited by 22% and cancer by 19%. Yet the reality is quite different, since, among deaths attributable to alcohol, cancer represent the largest number, followed distantly by cardiovascular diseases and digestive diseases. Accidents happen only in fourth position.