While the WHO is organizing World No Tobacco Day on May 31, France still has nearly 12 million daily smokers among 18-75 year olds. After an unprecedented drop between 2016 and 2019, smoking has stabilized in the country, but inequalities are strong depending on social background, according to the results of a study published this Wednesday by Public Health France.
In 2022, in metropolitan France, nearly a third of people aged 18-75 said they smoked (31.8%), daily for a quarter (24.5%). The increase seen among women between 2019 and 2021 does not appear to be continuing.
A correlation with the level of diplomas
After an unprecedented drop in daily smoking between 2016 and 2019 (from 29.4% to 24.0% in mainland France), the prevalence has stabilized since 2019, notes the health agency, which is based on data from a telephone survey conducted between March and July 2022 among 3,229 adults. According to Public Health France, the stress linked to the Covid-19 health crisis could have had an impact on the interruption of the decline in the prevalence of smoking and on the increase observed among certain populations.
The prevalence of daily smoking remains significantly higher when the level of diploma is lower: it varies from 30.8% among people with no diploma or a diploma below the baccalaureate to 16.8% among holders of a diploma higher than the baccalaureate. It is also highest among the third of the population with the lowest incomes (33.6%); finally, among 18-64 year olds, the prevalence of daily smoking remains significantly higher among unemployed people (42.3%), than among employed workers (26.1%) or students (19.1%) .
In 2022, 41.2% of 18-75 year olds say they have already tried electronic cigarettes. The prevalence of daily vaping is 5.5%. It does not vary significantly compared to 2021, but an upward trend has been observed since 2016: there were then 2.5% of daily vapers.
Another lesson from the survey: among daily smokers, 59.3% say they want to quit, 26.4% say they plan to quit in the next six months and 30.3% have made an attempt. downtime of at least one week in the last 12 months.