The war against tobacco in France is total, with health, economic, civic and ethical arguments. The new National Program to Fight Smoking, drawn up jointly by the Ministries of Health and Public Accounts, which extends until 2027, plans to raise the average price of a pack to 13 euros, put an end to single-use electronic cigarettes and ban smoking on beaches, parks and forests, as well as around public buildings such as schools.
Despite the campaigns that have taken place so far and the constant increase in the price of tobacco, even today around 12 million French people smoke, which represents 25% of the adult population. The Government’s aim is to move towards “a tobacco-free society”. It is believed that, by the year 2032, we can already speak of the first non-smoking generation, or almost.
As in other countries, the process has entailed a profound cultural transformation, difficult for some sectors to assimilate. One of the icons of French song of the second half of the 20th century, Serge Gainsbourg, smoked four packs of Gypsies a day. It’s hard to see a picture of him without a cigarette on his lips or between his fingers.
Parisian intellectual bohemia, the rebellious and hedonistic spirit after May 1968, was in a certain way associated with the atmosphere of cafes and ambient smoke.
The presentation of the anti-smoking program, at the end of November, was carried out by the Minister of Health, Aurélien Rousseau, who adopted a very severe and categorical tone. “Every day France pays a very high tax for smoking”, he began by saying.
Then he went to the figures of the “plague”: 75,000 deaths annually; that is, 200 a day. Smoking is the main cause of avoidable and premature mortality – people under 65 years old -, the leading cause of cancer deaths (45,000 a year) and cardiovascular diseases (7,500).
Rousseau placed a lot of emphasis on the moral and civic responsibility of smokers, on the civic imperative, not only because of the damage they do to passive smokers -much less now because the spaces have been demarcated-, but because their vice affects the system of collective solidarity, specifically in the cost of healthcare.
The minister recalled that, despite the abundant income generated by tobacco in taxes, the balance for the State is very negative, since medical care for pathologies derived from smoking far exceeds tax collection. The final bill paid by all French smokers reaches 16,500 million euros. “We are all losers”, warned Rousseau.
The average price of the package will be 12 euros in 2025, although some brands will probably already reach this price in 2024. During 2026 it will be 13 euros.
The minister emphasized that the steep rise in tobacco prices and the expansion of restrictions are not a whim of the Executive, but rather measures that have proven effective.
“Smoking bans and price increases work and are very effective,” he said. There is scientific consensus on this worldwide.”
Single-use electronic cigarettes will be banned because they are considered “a public health aberration and also an aberration due to their environmental footprint”.
The head of Health indicated that he will act on the aromas of electronic cigarettes to prevent them from being attractive to young people and will restrict the trade of small bags of nicotine, another feared form of addiction.
In addition to the punitive measures, the aim is to strengthen medical support for those who wish to quit smoking. “To quit smoking, the key is to be helped, not just blamed”, emphasized Rousseau.
The crusade against tobacco is implying a metamorphosis of tobacconists, who are being recycled into simple local shops, less and less dependent on smokers.
Its offer has been greatly expanded. Multiple lotteries are very good business. The Government has just authorized the sale of ammunition to hunters, something that can be profitable in rural France because the hunting activity has a million practitioners.
