Tobacco: Benoît Hamon advocates 15% increase per year

One thing is certain, in terms of health, all the 2017 presidential candidates make prevention a major focus of their campaign. It is with her that everyone hopes to improve the health of the French and, in the process, to make substantial savings.

In this area, one priority is the subject of much discussion: the fight against smoking. Experts seem unanimous: increasing the price of tobacco is the most effective measure. On the eve of the televised debate organized between the eleven candidates on CNews and BFM, here is a review of the different proposals of the challengers.

Benoît Hamon the most radical

Benoît Hamon has particularly distinguished himself in this area. On the set of Why actor, its health spokesperson Alfred Spira, judged that increasing the price of tobacco by 2-3% is not enough. “We need massive increases,” he suggested. According to the epidemiologist, when we are content to increase the price of the package by 10%, “this has an immediate effect on consumption by 4%, then it starts to increase again”.

For the candidate Hamon, the increases will therefore have to be made in stages And Alfred Spira specifies: “we recommend increases in levels of 15% per year”.

Emmanuel Macron for a package of 10 euros

For his part, Emmanuel Macron proposes to bring the price of a packet of cigarettes to the symbolic bar of 10 euros (against around 7 euros today). “I am completely ready for it”, assured the candidate on RTL, remember this Monday ledauphine.com. But the president of Working ! sets a condition: it will increase the price of tobacco only if neighboring countries do the same.

“We cannot explain to tobacconists and consumers who are in Lille, Strasbourg or elsewhere that by taking their car ten minutes, they will have the package at half price on the other side of the border”, concluded. he does.
François Fillon, the candidate for the right and the center, did not go into details but he also considers the increase in the price of tobacco as the most effective measure to reduce consumption.

No increase for Marine Le Pen

Finally, the Front National (FN) candidate Marine Le Pen stands out from her competitors. She has indeed expressed her refusal to increase the price of tobacco if she succeeds at the head of state. Always on RTL, she declared: “I think it is an individual process (…) When you are addicted to tobacco, you can raise the price of the pack to almost insurmountable levels and people will still find tobacco ”.

For the candidate, the main thing is prevention. She concluded by announcing very clearly that she is not considering a 10 euro package.