Prevalence of Cocaine Use

"Since the beginning of the 1990s, the availability of stimulants, cocaine or other synthetic drugs (ecstasy, amphetamines, etc.), has increased in France. The emergence and the related spread of the freebase form of cocaine 74, crack (whose use is nevertheless rare) occurred during the same decade.
"With 1.5 million lifetime users aged from 11 to 75 (i.e. 3% of the general population) and 400,000 users over the course of the year (0.8% of the general population), cocaine ranks second among the most widely consumed illicit substances, way behind cannabis and licit psychoactive substances. In 2010, 3.6% of 15-64 year-olds questioned by the Health Barometer had used it at least once in their lives and 0.9% had used it during the past year (Table 2-2). The significant increase in its diffusion is nevertheless very marked. It reflects the accessibility of a substance that was once limited to the well-off. For some years, increasingly wide circles of society have tried it or used it. Current use (during the year) and lifetime use affects around three times more men than women."