In 2021, more than three in 10 adults aged 18-75 in metropolitan France said they smoked (31.9%), and a quarter smoked daily (25.3%). Compared to 2020, these numbers do not show significant fluctuations. But compared to 2019, before the Covid crisis, the prevalence of smoking has increased (30.4% then). If it is generally not developed “significantly” (25.3% in 2021 vs. 24% in 2019), daily smoking, in turn, increased among women (23% vs. 20.7%) and among those with few or no qualifications ( 32% versus 29%).
To explain these results, Public Health France considers that“The impact of the social and economic crisis related to Covid-19 cannot be excluded.”. According to the study, the increase in smoking among women may be partly related to the greater impact of this crisis on them. And there have been psychological, economic and social consequences of the Covid crisis “more pronounced” in disadvantaged populations where “Cigarette can be seen as a tool to manage stress or cope with everyday difficulties”. Only one result is judged “encouraging”The decline in daily smoking among men aged 18-24 is in line with several years of declining trends among teenagers.
The goal is tobacco-free production in 2032
In addition to social inequalities, which are still very pronounced (most smokers among the unemployed or especially manual workers), regional differences persist. Occitanie (28.5%) and Paca (29.1%) had a higher prevalence of daily smoking in 2021 than the rest of France, Ile-de-France and Pays-de-la-Loire more low (22.4%). The proportion of smokers in the overseas territories is lower than in mainland France.
E-cigarette use (6.7%) and daily vaping (5%) among adults increased in 2021 compared to 2020 (5.4% and 4.3%, respectively), but the proportion of 18-75 year olds who had it remained stable (38.7). %).
Tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death in France, with around 75,000 deaths per year. The goal set by the authorities is to reach a generation without tobacco by 2032.
*Data comes from the Public Health France barometer, a random sample of 18-85-year-olds living in France (24,514 people in mainland France, 6,519 abroad), a telephone survey conducted between February and December 2021.
Source: Le Figaro
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