BEH study: French people are smoking less and less

Each year, the Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin (BEH) of Public Health France conducts a study to measure the evolution of tobacco consumption in France. It is also an opportunity to take stock of the strengthening of tobacco control measures initiated in 2014 with the launch of the National Tobacco Reduction Program (PNRT). The 2019 BEH figures confirm the downward trend in smoking prevalence observed in recent years. While it was not as significant between 2018 and 2019 (-1.4 points), smoking prevalence in France is the lowest ever recorded, with 30.4% of smokers (34.6% of men and 26.5% of women), and 24% of daily smokers. Between 2018 and 2019, no significant decline was observed among men. On the other hand, prevalence decreased by 2.4 points in one year among women, from 28.9 to 26.5%. If we broaden the time spectrum, the prevalence of smoking in France fell from 34.3 to 30.4%, between 2014 and 2019, a decrease of 3.9 points and 11%. In the same time interval, smoking prevalence recorded a 5.4 point decrease (32.9% to 27.5%) among men and a 3.7 point decrease (24.4% to 20.7%) among women. As the BEH points out, " This is the first time since the early 2000s that a decline of this magnitude has been observed. ". While smoking prevalence by education level did not significantly decrease between 2018 and 2019, there was a clear improvement between 2014 and 2019. It increased from 39.6% to 32% among people without a diploma, from 28.9% to 22.4% among those with a baccalaureate, and from 20.1% to 17.7% among those with a diploma higher than the baccalaureate. Only those with a diploma lower than the baccalaureate did not see their prevalence decrease. Social inequalities in terms of smoking have not increased since 2016, but remain very marked, with a gap of twelve points between the lowest and highest incomes. Even today, Smoking remains a social marker in France. These results, which confirm the general downward trend in smoking prevalence in France, are encouraging and crown the intensification of the fight against tobacco since 2014, which has notably led to the introduction of plain packaging, repeated tax increases on tobacco products, better medical support for nicotine withdrawal, and the organization of No Tobacco Month. The slow change in the situation of men aged 18 to 24, and the persistent social stigma that tobacco constitutes, remind us that tobacco prevention is a long-term task. This observation calls for vigilance on the part of public authorities and all health stakeholders and underlines the importance of continuing efforts against smoking, in particular through the fundamental project to denormalize smoking, led by the Alliance Against Tobacco. To read the full report of the Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin, click on this link ©Generation Without Tobacco

---

©National Committee Against Smoking |