Luxembourg: Tobacco consumption stagnates at a high level

According to the latest study Annual smoking prevalence survey by the Luxembourg Cancer Foundation, 27,% of residents aged 16 and over were smokers in 2023 (prevalence identical for women and men), a very slight decrease compared to 2022 (28%). Nearly one in five Luxembourgers (18%) report smoking daily. Consumption of vaping products is on the rise, rising from 13% in the general population in 2022 to 17% in 2023.

Each year, the Cancer Foundation publishes the results of the survey Smoking in Luxembourg[1] carried out by the Luxembourg Institute for Social Research and Market Studies ((ILRES)This survey is jointly commissioned by the Cancer Foundation and the Ministry of Health and Social Security; it is based on a sample of 3,397 inhabitants aged 16 and over, representative of the resident population of Luxembourg.

High tobacco use among adolescents and young adults

"This drop of one percentage point is modest and is not sufficient to confirm a lasting downward trend in smoking in the population. ", declared the Cancer Foundation, especially since tobacco consumption among adolescents and young adults remains high with 35% of Luxembourgers aged 16 to 34 smokers.

Shisha consumption is on the rise, with 22% of respondents reporting using it in 2023 compared to 11% in 2022. Shisha is popular especially among young people, with 47% of 16-24 year-olds using it and 38% of 25-34 year-olds.

The proportion of smokers who say they intend, or probably intend, to quit smoking in the next six months remains stable at 50 %, while that of those who do not intend to quit smoking has gone from 37 % in 2022 to 33 % in 2023. While health is the most frequently cited reason (65%), price is also a deterrent for 45% of those who have tried to quit. Martine Deprez, the Minister of Health, has assured that the government wants to implement a continuous increase in tobacco prices in the coming years.

Passive exposure to cigarette smoke still too high

The foundation is also concerned that 11% of non-smokers report being exposed daily to passive cigarette smoke indoors, and 10% of them report being exposed outdoors.

"Although these figures are decreasing, they remain significant, because passive smoking is a danger to public health", the Cancer Foundation said.

Significant increase in vaping among adolescents and young adults

One of the other worrying findings according to the Cancer Foundation is the significant increase in e-cigarette consumption among young people under 25, with a vaping rate that jumped from 21 % in 2022 to 36 % in 2023.

Among these consumers, 53% say they vape for pleasure/taste, and 43 TP3T started to try to reduce their consumption of smoked tobacco, which was the case for 47% of them. About three out of ten users consider that e-cigarettes are less harmful than smoked tobacco. Finally, 11% of vapers say they never smoked before starting to use vaping products.

Strengthening of Luxembourg legislation concerning nicotine pouches

The Luxembourg government presented to Parliament on 22 May a bill concerning nicotine pouches which would allow the regulation concerning these products to be aligned with the laws relating to tobacco.[2]If approved, the bill would make it illegal to sell nicotine pouches to anyone under the age of 18, as well as to advertise and distribute them for free.

Furthermore, the Minister of Health stated that the government would introduce an excise duty and a VAT rate of 17 % on nicotine pouches, explaining that she was opposed to a complete ban on the sale of nicotine pouches (which is already the case in Belgium and the Netherlands) because users can easily buy them in Germany and France. In France, associations such as the National Committee against Smoking (CNCT) have already called for a ban on these products and parliamentarians are calling for vigilance regarding the rapid spread of these products among young people.

©Tobacco Free Generation

AE

[1] Smoking in Luxembourg: results of the 2023 survey, Cancer Foundation, published May 22, 2024, accessed May 24, 2024

[2] Shisha and e-cigarettes, gateways to tobacco, The Essentials, published on May 23, 2024, consulted the same day