[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%.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Janssen
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Observatoire français des drogues et des toxicomanies (OFDT), 3, avenue du stade de France, 93128 La Plaine Saint-Denis cedex, France. erjan@ofdt.fr
D002423:Cause of Death; D003644:Death Certificates; D062787:Drug Overdose / Q000401:mortality*; D005060:Europe; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000506:poisoning*; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000401:mortality*; D016495:Police; D012042:Registries
D013287:Illicit Drugs