Images of children with respiratory masks and those of blackened lungs we know. But would a completely neutral pack of cigarettes without any distinctive sign reduce the number of smokers even more? The Minister of Health, Marisol Touraine, is convinced of this and even wishes to include the measure in the public health law …
But the French themselves seem to be less convinced of it! According to an Opinion Way poll revealed by Le Parisien, 73% of French people questioned doubt the effectiveness of the neutral package on reducing the number of smokers in France.
Quite astonishing considering the Australian success. In 2013, one year after the implementation of the measure, the number of smokers finding cigarettes less pleasant increased by 70%. As for those who were considering stop smoking, they were 81% more. In 2015, our British neighbor will be the first in Europe to impose the neutral package.
Only one solution: prevention
Nearly half of French people surveyed (48%) consider that prevention remains the best way to reduce the number of smokers. We also learned, in an article in The Lancet, that 37 million premature deaths could be avoided by strengthening the prevention of non-communicable diseases. Regarding the other ideas launched to fight against tobacco: 1 in 5 French people do not believe in an increase in taxes and 12% of them reject the reimbursement of nicotine substitutes.
On June 17, the Minister of Health Marisol Touraine will present new measures to reduce tobacco consumption. No price increase is expected, but it is clear that between 2000 and 2013, the average price of a pack of cigarettes more than doubled … And tobacco consumption has almost fallen by 60%.
