LSmoking kills more than two hundred French people every day most common cause of death and cancer avoidable in France. Despite considerable efforts, France is performing significantly worse than the United States in the fight against tobacco.

Our country should be inspired by the American strategy, which is fundamentally different but as simple as it is effective: condemning tobacco multinationals to high punitive damages and massively funding prevention campaigns in schools.

The French smoke much more than their neighbors. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the proportion of smokers among those over 15 years old exceeds a third in France, while it varies between a fifth and a quarter in neighboring countries (Germany, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco and Switzerland) , with the exception of Andorra and Spain, where the rate is between a quarter and a third.

The proportion of smokers in France also exceeds the average for Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries by almost 40%. So much so that tobacco is blamed for the death of one in eight French people and it is estimated that one in two smokers will die as a result of its consumption. Even in 2020, more French people died from tobacco than from Covid-19, and the victims were on average younger.

Limited effect

This dark image However, this is not due to a lack of national commitment in the fight against tobacco. Our country is conducting prevention campaignsfunds cessation services, prohibits advertising and consumption in enclosed public places, and imposes Neutrality of packaging. In addition, it is characterized by extreme taxation (about 85% of the total price of a pack of cigarettes).

Contrary to popular belief, tobacco taxes have a limited impact on tobacco consumption. Although there is a connection between tobacco use and its price, it is not as clear as one might think. This is reflected in the fact that the French smoke much more than their neighbors, even if the price of their cigarettes is up to twice as high. This phenomenon can also be observed in the USA, where a pack of cigarettes costs twice as much in Illinois as in California, but the proportion of smokers there is 40% higher.

However, tobacco taxes are justified to finance public health, although most French people mistakenly believe that the sale of tobacco brings in more for the state than it costs it. This other preconception is contradicted by economic analyzes that reveal this The health costs associated with tobacco exceed several billion euros every year Tax revenue and pension savings that are not paid out to those who die prematurely.

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