Anti-smoking legislation: we are not all equal

According to a WHO (World Health Organization) report released on December 19, one-third of the world's population lacks effective tobacco control. Indeed, even though information campaigns and legislation are increasing, they are unevenly distributed around the world.

2020 marks a turning point

Good news: according to the WHO, 2020 is expected to see a decline in the number of men using tobacco worldwide – until now, the decline only affected women. For Yves Martinet, president of the CNCT (National Committee Against Tobacco) and head of the pulmonology department at Nancy University Hospital, taxes on production and the development of cessation support have greatly contributed to this encouraging finding.

Inequalities remain

It was in 2007 that the WHO launched its MPOWER program, a set of recommendations made to states to combat the tobacco epidemic: - warning against the dangers of smoking, - banning tobacco advertising, - increasing tobacco taxes, - supporting people wishing to quit. Only 15% of the population were protected by at least one of these measures at the time. This rate has now reached 65%. A clear increase, certainly, but too large a portion of the population remains exposed.

Taxing tobacco products: an effective measure but unevenly applied

According to Gérard Audureau, president of DNF and an analyst specializing in tobacco taxation, the strong and repeated increase in tobacco prices is one of the solutions that works best, as demonstrated by the two French experiments of 2003 (drop in sales of 32% in 2 years) and the "€10 pack" which saw smoking prevalence drop from 29% to 24% in 3 years. However, today, only 38 countries, which are home to only 14 % of the world's population, tax tobacco at more than 75 % of the retail price.

Monitoring, prevention, support for weaning: missions not always fulfilled

The WHO recommends monitoring consumption levels country by country. Unfortunately, only 1 in 3 countries achieves this mission by conducting surveys at least every 5 years. Regarding prevention, many differences are still reported. For example, in China, only 1 in 4 adults know that tobacco can cause lung cancer, strokes, etc. These gaps in prevention pose a major problem, since the WHO estimates that the majority of smokers want to stop smoking when they become aware of the dangers it represents. Regarding smoking cessation support, only 23 countries, representing 32% of the world's population, have implemented comprehensive programs and full or partial coverage.

While all initiatives aimed at combating the tobacco epidemic must therefore be welcomed, actions must both continue and be unified across the world, because common measures and a coherent fight will be more than valuable tools.

©Generation Without Tobacco

[i] "Territorial inequalities in smoking" https://www.generationsanstabac.org/actualites/inegalites-territoriales-du-tabagisme/

Arthur Schweitzer, “Tobacco control is uneven across the world,” Le Figaro, January 11, 2020

[i] https://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/le-controle-du-tabac-est-inegal-a-travers-le-monde-20200111

http://www.zerotabac.net/2020/06/le-paquet-de-cigarette-a-15€-pour-2025/

©DNF - For a Zero Tobacco World |