Smoking in France stabilizes at a high level, according to Public Health France

After an unprecedented decline between 2016 and 2019, smoking prevalence has stabilized at 31.8% in France in 2022, according to the latest estimates from Public Health France. Among the 12 million daily smokers, the impact of social inequality remains particularly significant.

The leading cause of preventable death, smoking remains a significant phenomenon in France, confirms a study carried out in 2022 by Public Health France.[1]This finds that the overall smoking prevalence among 18-75 year olds is 31.8 %, while daily smoking stands at 24.5 %, figures stable compared to those recorded in 2021.

A high level of consumption and a high incidence of social inequalities

Despite some persistent beliefs, daily smoking remains more prevalent among men (27.4 µg/mL) than among women (21.7 µg/mL). The increase in female smoking observed between 2019 and 2021 appears to be stabilizing.

Other markers of smoking are primarily social, as they relate to professional status, income, and educational level. The unemployed (42.3 %) smoke more daily than those in employment (26.1 %) or students (19.1 %). The third of the population with the lowest incomes (33.6 %) has a higher smoking prevalence than the third with the highest incomes (21.4 %) and the third with intermediate incomes (20.9 %). Finally, daily smoking is more prevalent among people with no diploma or a diploma below the baccalaureate (30.8 %) than among those with a diploma above the baccalaureate (16.8 %).

According to Fabienne El-Khoury, a social epidemiology researcher at Inserm, this over-representation of the most precarious social categories can be explained by several factors, which relate to the precariousness of their situation, social norms more favorable to smoking and a greater distance from healthcare providers (doctors, pharmacists).[2].

Experimentation with e-cigarettes is on the rise, rising from 38.7 % in 2021 to 41.2 % in 2022; current use and daily use of these products are not changing significantly, even though they are up compared to 2016. Experimentation with heated tobacco has increased from less than 1 % in 2018 to 2.8 % in 2022 and current use remains around 0.1 %, these changes are not significant.

6 out of 10 daily smokers would like to quit smoking

Alongside this study, an analysis of data from the 2021 French Public Health Barometer[3] points out that 59.3% of daily smokers want to quit, a figure that also remains relatively stable. Men are more likely than women to want to quit smoking (61.7% versus 56.5% versus 34.3% versus 25.8% versus 34.3%), a gap that is even more noticeable among 18-34 year-olds.

The results for the 2021-2022 period at the adult population level thus remain very mixed in terms of tobacco consumption. It reflects not only the impact of the COVID-19 health crisis on smoking behavior and the mental health of the French, but also – and even more importantly – the halt to significant increases in tobacco taxes. The real price of tobacco products has not increased since 2020 due to inflation, and has been the subject of catch-up measures since March 2023. The relaunch of an active pricing policy should be one of the challenges of the years to come.

Keywords: Public health France, smoking prevalence, smoking cessation, price.

©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] Pasquereau A, Andler R, Guignard R, Soullier N, Beck F, Nguyen-Thanh V. Prevalence of smoking and vaping in metropolitan France in 2022 among 18-75 year-olds. Bull Epidemiol Hebd. 2023;(9-10):152-8. http://beh.santepubliquefrance.fr/beh/2023/9-10/2023_9-10_1.html

[2] The Romanser A, Smoking among the most disadvantaged: “Nicotine addiction is more prevalent in disadvantaged areas”, Libération, published May 31, 2023, consulted June 1, 2023.

[3] Guignard R, Soullier N, Pasquereau A, Andler R, Beck F, Nguyen-Thanh V. Factors associated with quitting desire and quit attempts among smokers. Results of the 2021 French Public Health Barometer. Bull Epidémiol Hebd. 2023;(9-10):159-65. http://beh.santepubliquefrance.fr/beh/2023/9-10/2023_9-10_2.html

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