[Drug related deaths in France. A critical view].

BACKGROUND

Available data suggest a reduction in the number of overdoses due to psychoactive substances (tobacco and alcohol excluded) in France. Nevertheless, official levels remain considerably low compared to other European countries, and strong differences between the different sources providing information support the hypothesis of under-reporting.

METHODS

Two cross-tabulations of the main sources of information (police data and national mortality registry on one hand; police data and on another hand) allow the use of easy-to-compute, capture-recapture based indicators to estimate the invisible population (i.e. hidden overdoses).

RESULTS

Results support a significant under-reporting of overdoses, reaching a minimum level of 30%.

CONCLUSION

Unlike official claims, there has been a rise in overdoses in France during the last decade. Besides the applied corrections, levels of overdoses still remain low. Attention should be paid to death certification. Other issues of interest are the lack of a common definition and the need for greater institutional coordination.