Which regions in France are most smoked?

A few days before World No Tobacco Day, Santé publique France is publishing a study on daily smoking in the country, by region. The authors highlight significantly different situations between territories, and call for strengthening anti-smoking policies.

THE data mobilized by Santé publique France come mainly from its 2021 Barometer, a representative survey of 18-75 year-olds living in metropolitan France and in the overseas departments and regions (DROM). The objective of such a study is in particular to report on regional disparities in smoking (daily smoking, desire to quit smoking and attempts to quit) and vaping, but also to help guide regional policies to combat smoking.

Occitanie and the PACA region at the bottom of the ranking

In 2021, more than one in four French adults were daily tobacco users (25.3%). Île-de-France and Pays de la Loire stood out for their lower prevalence than the other regions of metropolitan France, with 21.9% and 22.4% daily users respectively. Conversely, Occitanie and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur were the regions with the highest smoking prevalence, with 28.9% and 29.5% daily users respectively. However, the overseas departments and regions recorded significantly lower consumption than the mainland regions, with a standardized smoking prevalence ranging from 11.7% for French Guiana to 18.7% for Réunion.

Results that differ depending on gender

However, these results hide significant disparities based on gender. Thus, among women, prevalences varied in 2021 from 19.1% (Normandy) to 26.6% (Occitanie). Again, smoking prevalences are significantly lower in the DROMs, ranging from 6.3% to 15.9%. Among men, the prevalence of daily smoking was estimated between 20.6% and 33.2% in metropolitan France. Centre-Val de Loire and Île-de-France were the two regions with the lowest male smoking prevalence (20.6% and 24.1%). The Provence Alpes-Côte d'Azur region recorded the worst score, with 33.21% of daily consumers among adult men, a proportion unchanged from that of 2010.

Apart from Réunion (26.2%), the DROMs are also characterised by a significantly lower smoking prevalence (from 13.8% to 18.6%). For all French regions, the smoking prevalence of men is higher than that of women, with the exception of Centre-Val de Loire, where there are 22.7% daily female smokers and 20.6% daily male smokers. Overall, the figures show a trend towards a reduction in the gaps between men and women in half of the regions.

Among the male population, the prevalence of daily smoking had decreased significantly in Île-de-France, Centre-Val de Loire and Hauts-de-France, while among women, it had declined sharply in Normandy, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Île-de-France. It should be noted that the male smoking prevalence increased significantly between 2017 and 2021, from 27.1% to 31.8% in the Normandy region.

A desire to quit tobacco widely shared by smokers in France

The data also show that the majority of French smokers want to quit their addiction. Thus, all regions have at least 50% of their smokers expressing the wish to quit smoking. The PACA region stood out with a significantly lower proportion than the other mainland regions (50.7%). On the other hand, in Île-de-France, almost two-thirds of smokers said they wanted to stop their consumption (64.6%). The overseas departments and regions also stand out with a more marked desire to quit among smokers, reaching up to 70.1% of consumers in Guyana. Depending on the region, 20.8% to 35.2% of daily smokers had attempted to quit in 2021 during the year preceding the survey. In particular, two hexagonal regions recorded significantly lower proportions than the others: Brittany (20.8%) and the Grand Est (23.9%). This proportion reached up to 50.5% in the DROMs.

©Generation Without Tobacco

FT