30 years of the Évin law: a founding act for French public health

On January 10, 2021, France celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Évin Law, the cornerstone of national regulation to combat smoking and alcohol. Despite numerous attempts to weaken it by lobbyists for these two industries, the Évin Law remains a decisive step for public health in France, and a regulatory model for many countries around the world. On the occasion of its anniversary, health organizations and experts are calling on public authorities to strengthen the current provisions [1].

Following in the footsteps of the Veil Act in 1976, France, with the Évin Act, became one of the first countries to strengthen the legal framework for the marketing, promotion and consumption of tobacco and alcohol. In terms of tobacco control, the Évin Act enabled pioneering advances by banning all forms of tobacco advertising, adopting a tax policy as a lever to reduce smoking, strengthening health warnings, and banning smoking in places used for collective purposes, at work, and on public transport. Finally, the Évin Act contributed to the recognition of the role of associations in the fight against smoking and alcohol, by giving them the ability to prosecute those who violate the law. Through case law, civil society has played a major role in protecting and strengthening regulatory provisions on tobacco control.

The Évin law: a pioneering law in France

On the issue of smoking, the regulatory framework has expanded over the next three decades. In particular, the Bertrand decree, banning smoking in public places, in 2006; the ban on distinctive flavours and the affixing of health images on packets under Roselyne Bachelot, the introduction of plain packaging under Marisol Touraine (2016); and the tobacco tax policy implemented by Agnès Buzyn. All of these provisions have considerably helped reduce tobacco consumption in France. Thus, the sale of manufactured cigarettes fell by almost 60% between 1991 and 2021.

A continuing standoff with tobacco lobbies

The tobacco industry has made a considerable effort against the Évin law. For example, lobbying by industry succeeded in weakening the provision initially allowing the ban on smoking in public places, by minimizing the health consequences of passive smoking, and by invoking the individual responsibility of the smoker. It would take 15 years for the Bertrand decree to definitively ratify this ban. However, the Évin law, like all tobacco regulations, is regularly subject to attempts to weaken by lobbies. In a press release, ACT - Alliance against tobacco and the Association Addictions France (formerly ANPAA) urge public officials to " complete all the objectives of the Évin law ", in:

• Restoring the full ban in public places;
• Putting an end to disguised advertising in audiovisual media, particularly films and series;
• Strengthening the industry non-interference provisions of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control;