“Attempts”: the new campaign from Public Health France to encourage people to quit smoking

Santé publique France is launching a new campaign to encourage smokers to quit smoking, in partnership with the TV show Koh-Lanta. Entitled "Les essais", the campaign aims to promote any attempt to quit, even unsuccessful ones, as a necessary step towards definitive smoking cessation.

The “Attempts” campaign is carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Labor, Health, Solidarity and Families, as well as with Health Insurance.

"The more you try to quit smoking, the more likely you are to succeed."

The Government is partnering with the Koh-Lanta show, broadcast on TF1, and which promotes the values of perseverance, resilience and inspiration, through two thirty-second spots, featuring a former smoker and a former Koh Lanta candidate explaining that they had made several attempts before succeeding. With the key message "the more you try to quit smoking, the more likely you are to succeed", and inviting smokers to turn to tobacco specialists and the Tabac Info Service line (3989), attempts to quit are presented as "a victory on the path to a healthier life", in the words of Catherine Vautrin, Minister of Labor, Health, Solidarity and Families, and Yannick Neuder, Minister responsible for Health and Access to Care. The campaign draws an analogy between quitting smoking and different life situations, such as the difficult learning of certain sports (surfing) or professions (waiter). The campaign, which includes television spots, online videos and visuals, will be rolled out in two waves: from February 16 to March 17, 2025, then from May 18 to June 19, 2025.

Any attempt to quit is a step towards permanent withdrawal

The various published studies show that a large majority of smokers want to quit, or wish they had never smoked. Each year, around a quarter of smokers make an attempt to quit for at least a week, which in the majority of cases ends in failure and a return to smoking. Given the addictive nature of smoking, and particularly nicotine, the probability of quitting smoking after a single attempt is very low. Many studies conducted on the subject have sought to determine the average number of attempts a smoker makes to quit before achieving definitive withdrawal from smoking. Thus, the American Cancer Society estimates that it takes eight to ten attempts to quit smoking, while the Australian Cancer Council estimates that it takes between 12 and 14. However, the number of attempts varies greatly depending on the individual, their level of consumption and dependence, their social status, their environment, etc. Consequently, one study indicates that for some smokers, thirty or more attempts are necessary before achieving definitive withdrawal.[1]. However, the entire scientific literature indicates that any attempt, even unsuccessful, increases the smoker's chances of breaking his addiction.[2].

[1] Chaiton M, Diemert L, Cohen JE, et al, Estimating the number of quit attempts it takes to quit smoking successfully in a longitudinal cohort of smokers, BMJ Open 2016;6:e011045. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011045

[2] Truth Initiative, Quitting Tobacco: Facts and Stats, 04/22/2024, (accessed 02/20/2025)