According to a new survey, if 60% of French people think that the electronic cigarette is effective in reducing tobacco consumption, 77% of them would prefer to be informed on the issue by the public authorities.
Is the electronic cigarette an effective tool to help reduce smoking? While the scientific community has been debating on this question for years, six out of ten French people think so. Despite everything, 75% of them are poorly informed about the e-cigarette, reveals a Odoxa poll published Monday, May 18. According to this survey, 77% of respondents believe that the public authorities do not provide enough information on the subject. They are also 84% to find that the government should better regulate the use of the e-cigarette but also encourage it as an alternative to tobacco among smokers (55%).
For 60% of French people, the electronic cigarette helps to reduce tobacco consumption. Smokers are 69% to think so and vapers 92%. Also, 53% of respondents have turned to electronic cigarettes in the hope of reducing tobacco.
However, this transition to electronics takes place above all because at ten euros a packet, the traditional cigarette has become a luxury product. Thus, 56% of French people are mainly looking to save money when they start vaping. This is mainly the case for women (63%) and CSP- (64%). Finally, some vapers want to take advantage of the electronic cigarette to disturb those around them less (30%) while, for others, it is an opportunity to be able to consume nicotine anytime and anywhere (23%).
Those over 65% more skeptical of vaping
While most French people think that switching to vaping can help reduce tobacco consumption, they are more skeptical about its effectiveness in quitting completely: only 45% of them believe in it. Those who are most convinced of this are exclusive vapers (92%). Next come daily vapers (91%), tobacco smokers (55%) and business leaders (54%).
“The gap that we see between the French and vapers is not new and can be explained. The skepticism of a large part of our fellow citizens with regard to the electronic cigarette is not only linked to their doubts about its effectiveness. Indeed, a majority of them still consider it to be as risky (55%) or even riskier (9%) than tobacco”analyze the pollsters.
We note that it is especially seniors who have a bad image of vaping: 62% of people aged 65 and over believe that the electronic cigarette is as dangerous as the classic one. ConverselyCSP+ and the highest earners (38%), the most educated (40%), tobacco smokers (37%) and vapers (65%) tend to think that vaping is “less risky than tobacco”.
The French trust their doctors more than the press or the government
However, where the French generally agree is in their impression of being ill-informed on the subject. Thus, 60% of 18-24 year olds would like to have more information on electronic cigarettes. In detail, women (60% vs 53% of men), CSP+ (58% poorly informed), the most educated (59% vs 55% when below the baccalaureate level), and French non-smokers (60 %) consider themselves insufficiently informed.
To gather reliable information, 85% of them trust their doctors. On the other hand, they are very suspicious of the Internet and social networks (79% unfavorable opinions), the press (71%) and even public authorities (58%). The French are thus 77% to find that the public authorities do not inform them enough about the electronic cigarette. In detail, 85% of respondents would like the government to inform the population more “on all current scientific knowledge on the electronic cigarette” and 84% that he frames “the electronic cigarette more (regulations, product quality, controls, marketing, uses, etc.).
In conclusion, “the French expect from the public authorities that they provide more information on the uses of vaping, raise awareness among smokers and further encourage the practice of electronic cigarettes. They expect appropriate regulations that can reassure consumers in the use of safe and quality products”analyze the experts.
In May 2019, Public Health France announced a decrease of 600,000 smokers in 2018 compared to 2017. This sharp drop came on top of the one million fewer smokers already recorded between 2016 and 2017. If the number of traditional smokers has reduced in an “unprecedented” way, during this period, the number of vapers increased by 500,000. There are currently 2 million vapers in France, which is in fact the 3and world market behind the United States and the United Kingdom for e-cigarettes.
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