“France is now a pioneer in Europe in the fight against tobacco”, declared Marisol Touraine, Minister of Social Affairs and Health, presenting this morning to the Council of Ministers the ordinance transposing the European directive making it possible to strengthen the fight against smoking.
This text which is accompanied by entry into force of the neutral package among manufacturers in two days (from May 20, they can no longer produce labeled packets of cigarettes and must deliver to tobacconists only neutral packets), supports the ministerial intention to fight against smoking.
Two information campaigns in May and November
An intention that does not stop there since the Minister also announced the creation of a smoking prevention fund endowed this year with 32 million euros, as well as the launch of two major communication campaigns to encourage the smoking cessation.
• From May 23 to June 30, 2016, a poster campaign, on the radio and on the Internet to fight against preconceived ideas relating to the impact of tobacco on health and encourage the use of Tabac Info Service.
• In November 2016, “Moi (s) sans tabac”, a campaign conceived as a collective challenge to encourage the greatest number of smokers to quit smoking for 30 days. This campaign is inspired by the Anglo-Saxon “Stoptober” initiative and will thus constitute the first major social marketing experience in France.
For their part, tobacconists are up against the establishment of the neutral package. They threaten to block Euro football if they are not heard.
They are demanding an almost doubling of the commission paid to tobacco dealers on the price of each packet sold (the percentage would go from 6.9% to 11%). And want a limitation to 2 cartons of the number of cigarettes that can be imported from abroad.
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