No Tobacco Month: Launch of the 7th edition

As every year since 2016, Santé Publique France and the Ministry of Health and Prevention, in partnership with the Health Insurance, are inviting all smokers to engage in a collective movement to stop smoking, over a period of 30 days with the support of those around them, both smokers and non-smokers.

Since the 1^era edition, 1,024,375 smokers have already registered for this operation, which has now become an autumn ritual. The number of people taking advantage of this operation to start quitting smoking is, however, significantly higher, since 1.8 million attempts to quit smoking were counted between the 2016 and 2019 editions.[1].

A range of tools available to smokers

“You weren’t alone when you started, and you won’t be alone when you stop.”, declares Public Health France on the page dedicated to No Tobacco Month[2].

To avoid having to face smoking cessation alone, it is strongly recommended to be accompanied by a tobacco specialist or a healthcare professional, which increases the chances of success by approximately 70%. Several tools are also available to smokers:

• THE website Tobacco-free month, allowing you to register, participate in the operation and receive the quitting aid kit.
• THE website tabac-info-service.fr, which provides a wealth of information (testimonials, questions/answers, etc.) and support tools (connection with a tobacco specialist).
• THE 39 89, the free telephone line of Tabac info service, connects smokers with smoking cessation professionals, in order to obtain personalized support.
• The application Tabac info service, which offers a complete and personalized e-coaching program to optimize the chances of quitting smoking for good (tips, support videos, monitoring of the benefits of quitting, etc.).
• A Tobacco-Free Month quit aid kit, available free of charge upon registration or at 18,000 partner pharmacies. This kit includes the 40-day program, including 10 days of preparation and 30 days of challenge, as well as a savings wheel and two information leaflets, which present the available tools and explain how to consult a healthcare professional.
• Social media, with dedicated pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, where smokers can find support, advice and useful information to tackle the withdrawal phase.

A poster and televised information campaign complements this system by appealing to smokers and those around them.

Relays in the field and within workplaces

Tobacco-Free Month is also an opportunity to implement numerous local initiatives, as 341 local projects led by community and medical-social stakeholders are being combined with the national initiative this year.

Finally, it's a prime opportunity to raise awareness about tobacco in the workplace. In 2021, 5,000 businesses and public services participated in Tobacco-Free Month by registering on the dedicated website to receive the materials offered (posters, videos, leaflets). Information specific to the workplace is also shared on the platform. Employers for Health, launched by Santé Publique France in May 2022. Advice that is not only aimed at large structures, but also concerns small businesses, as shown by a study recent qualitative.

The benefits of social marketing

The French version of the British Stoptober operation, No Tobacco Month has established itself over the years as an essential event for all those involved in tobaccology. Inspired by the techniques of social marketing, which aim to identify the needs of a specific public and provide them with the necessary support to achieve behavior change, this operation is subject to regular evaluations and benefits from high visibility. By relying on the ripple effect of collective mobilization, it offers smokers additional opportunities to free themselves from smoking and brings us a little closer each time to the objective of a Tobacco-Free Generation (fewer than 5 % daily smokers by 2032 for the age group born in 2012). Managing to quit smoking for 30 days increases by 5 the chances of successfully quitting smoking completely.

Keywords: No Tobacco Month, social marketing, Public Health France, Employers for Health.

©Generation Without Tobacco

MF

[1] Guignard R, Gautier A, Andler R, Soullier N, Nguyen-Thanh V. Attempts to quit smoking during the Tobacco-Free Month operation (2016-2019): results of the Public Health France Health Barometers. Bull Epidemiol Hebd. 2021

[2] 7th edition of Tobacco Free Month: Register now to take up the challenge!, Public Health France, published October 6, 2022, accessed October 11, 2022.

National Committee Against Smoking |