According to data from the 2017 Health Barometer of Public Health France, the prevalence of daily smoking fell from 29.4% in 2016 to 26.9% in 2017, a decrease of 2.5 points. This corresponds to a million fewer smokers over a year.
France now has one million fewer smokers, dropping from 13.2 million tobacco users to 12.2 million. According to data from 2017 Health Barometer publique France, the prevalence of daily smoking fell from 29.4% in 2016 to 26.9% in 2017, a decrease of 2.5 points. This finding is more particularly marked among men aged 18 to 24 (44% in 2016 vs. 35% in 2017) and among women aged 55 to 64 (21% vs. 18% in 2017).
Press release | May 31st : #WorldTobacco Free Day : a historic drop in smoking in France
?? 1 million fewer daily smokers in 2017, a success for public health https://t.co/cxiH0VnGht
To read the #BEH https://t.co/Csh4YuKyU6 pic.twitter.com/RorGwSJ0kF– SantépubliqueFrance (@santeprevention) May 28, 2018
Social inequalities in smoking stop growing
Ile-de-France and Pays de la Loire are the regions where people smoke the least, with respective prevalence of 21.3% and 23%. Conversely, the prevalence was higher in Paca (32.1%), in Hauts-de-France (30.5%), in Occitanie (30.3%) and in Grand-Est (30, 1%).
Another striking fact is that daily smoking is also decreasing among the most disadvantaged smokers. It went from 39% in 2016 to 34% in 2017 among low-income people and from 50% to 44% among unemployed people. For the first time since the early 2000s, social inequalities in smoking have stopped growing.
Two important points should be noted which show notable changes: on the one hand, the increase in the proportion of people who have never smoked, from 34.3% to 37.1% between 2016 and 2017 and, on the other hand, the decline in the age of experimentation, from 14 years to 14.4 years between 2014 and 2017. Finally, the proportion of 17-year-olds who have experimented with cigarettes has fallen, from 68.4 % in 2014 to 59.0% in 2017. The younger the first cigarette is smoked, the greater the probability of becoming a regular smoker.
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death
To explain this phenomenon, the Director General of Public Health France mentions the possible impact of the introduction of the neutral package, of the increase in the cost of nicotine replacement therapy to the tune of 150 € (previously 50 €) and the setting up of the major national media event for integrated prevention to help with smoking cessation in November: “Tobacco-free month”.
In France, smoking is the leading cause of preventable death, with around 73,000 deaths each year. It may be the cause multiple cancers (lung, throat, mouth, lips, pancreas, kidneys, bladder, uterus, esophagus). But also de cardiovascular disease (myocardial infarction, stroke, arteritis of the lower limbs, aneurysms, high blood pressure) and de erectile dysfunction.
Other pathologies are linked or are aggravated by smoking: gastritis, peptic ulcers, type II diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, eczema, psoriasis, lupus, ENT infections (nose – throat – ears) and dental, cataracts and AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration) can lead to blindness. Not to mention periodontitis, a gum disease that causes loosening and loss of teeth.
Quitting smoking is a real challenge: how can we best help these patients? What methods have proven their worth? The answers in our program “Smoking cessation: the keys to success”.
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