Key Points

• Daily alcohol consumption and heavy episodic drinking among 18- to 75-year-olds (prevalence rates of 5.2% and 13.0%) are lower in French Guiana than in mainland France (prevalence rates of 10.0% and 19.9%) (2014 DROM Health Barometer).

• Weekly alcohol consumption is, however, higher among young people aged 18 to 30 than in mainland France (prevalence of 43.4% versus 32.5%) (DROM Health Barometer 2014).

• In French Guiana, a greater number of young people have already tried alcohol by age 17 than in mainland France (prevalence of 90.0% versus 85.7%) (ESCAPAD Survey 2017).

• Beer and types of alcohol other than wine and spirits are consumed more heavily in French Guiana than in mainland France (2014 DROM Health Barometer).

• In French Guiana, weekly alcohol consumption is more common among young people aged 18 to 30, while daily consumption is more prevalent among those over 60 (DROM Health Barometer 2014).

• The mortality rate for the main diseases directly linked to alcohol (cancers of the aerodigestive tract, liver cirrhosis, alcohol-induced psychosis, and alcoholism) is comparable to that in mainland France among women (11.0 per 100,000 in French Guiana versus 12.0 in mainland France) but higher among men (54.6 per 100,000 versus 49.2).