Update of the guide “The mayor facing addictive behavior”

MILDECA has updated this guide intended to provide advice to mayors, many of whose missions may relate to different additive behaviors.

Although health issues are not expressly part of the remit of municipalities, topics related to addictive behaviors can concern mayors and their municipalities in more ways than one. A guide from the Interministerial Mission to Combat Drugs and Addictive Behaviors (MILDECA), initially published in 2019 and produced in collaboration with the Association of Mayors of France (AMF), has just been updated and provides an update on the main addictions, as well as the different situations that can affect municipalities.[1].

The mayor is also an employer

This guide details four areas of intervention that concern mayors: municipal agents, law enforcement, prevention among young people and nightlife management.

Among the many missions of a mayor, that of being the employer of municipal agents is not the least. Like any employer, the mayor is responsible for the physical and psychological health of the agents under his responsibility, and is thus required to implement preventive actions in favor of their health. If the use of alcohol and illicit drugs spontaneously comes to mind when it comes to addictions in a professional situation, often more present in local communities, the consumption of tobacco and electronic cigarettes can also be addressed.

These consumptions in fact lead to numerous breaks, often unregulated, which reduce productivity at work and can cause tensions within teams. Tobacco is also the cause of numerous pathologies, generating sick leave which represents a significant hidden cost for local authorities. The mayor-employer therefore has every interest in organizing prevention actions and encouraging people to stop smoking, by passing on to them the precepts of the prevention campaign addressed to citizens, if there is one. He must also enforce the bans on smoking and vaping in the workplace, and ensure the protection of non-smoking employees against passive smoking and vaping. The practical guide and the charter developed by the "Companies and Public Services Resolutely Commit" (ESPER) system provide the necessary milestones for developing an internal prevention policy.

Developing local smoking prevention actions

In terms of law enforcement, since 2016, municipal police officers have been authorized to draw up reports to enforce the bans on the sale of tobacco and vaping products to minors, as well as the bans on smoking and vaping. They are therefore able to carry out checks in tobacco shops and in stores specializing in vaping. They are also required to report any violation concerning non-compliance with the ban on tobacco advertising. These officers can also carry out checks on compliance with the bans on smoking and vaping in public establishments, particularly schools, and on public transport. The issue of compliance with the ban on smoking and vaping on café terraces or in shisha bars can also be included in these prerogatives. These missions, which are often ignored, require training for municipal police officers; training can be provided here by certain specialized associations.

More generally, the mayor can freely initiate actions to prevent addictions in general and smoking in particular. These actions can be directed towards schools or towards all residents. For example, this could involve joining the "Smoking Free Month" operation and promoting it. It could also involve establishing smoke-free areas in public spaces, whether around schools, in sports grounds or in other outdoor and uncovered spaces. In the best cases, the municipality can engage in a process of "free city without tobacco", which requires the coordinated implementation of a set of measures whose effectiveness has been demonstrated [2]^,[3]. Preventive actions in schools can be initiated and managed by a locally established Citizen Health Education Committee (CESC). Financial support options for all of these preventive actions can be obtained from prefectures and regional health agencies (ARS).

Other advice is also given for all other types of addictive behaviors, whether on issues of alcohol, drugs or screen abuse. Suggestions are thus proposed for the management of nightlife, for example by establishing a night council and a nightlife charter and by organizing a consultation with the various stakeholders concerned. Ultimately, the MILDECA guide allows mayors to engage more methodically in the prevention of different addictive behaviors and in operations allowing us to live better together.

Keywords: MILDECA, mayor, practical guide, addictions

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