2023-11-28 11:53:40
The Minister of Health and Prevention, Aurelien Rousseau, at the National Assembly, in Paris, November 14, 2023. LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP
How can we reduce smoking again, when the prevalence – 12 million daily smokers in the adult population – has been stagnating for several years? The Minister of Health and Prevention, Aurélien Rousseau, unveiled, Tuesday, November 28, the new national tobacco control program for the period 2023-2027. “Every year, France pays a heavy price for smoking, which remains the leading cause of avoidable mortality, with 75,000 deaths per year, or 200 deaths per day”he emphasizes.
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First pillar of this expected plan, while new products are worrying, such as disposable electronic cigarettes targeting adolescents: preventing entry into smoking, in particular among the youngest, among whom a clear drop in smoking was observed between 2017 and 2022. “Today we must take a new step”defended the minister, recalling the government’s objective of a tobacco-free generation in 2032.
For this, the price of a packet of cigarettes – currently around 11 euros – will be increased to 13 euros by 2027, as planned by the government. No change for 2024, however. There ” first stage “ will be played in 2025, at 12 euros, announced Mr. Rousseau. In his entourage, we defend a “not significant”, even though this increase should be close to that expected simply because of the mechanism for indexing the tax on tobacco to inflation, modified in 2022 by Parliament, we are already reacting in the ranks of anti-tobacco associations. On this basis, prices should increase from January 1, 2024 by 40 to 50 cents, according to estimates from the Confederation of tobacconists, reported in The echoes.
In September, the announcement made by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne not to increase tobacco taxes for 2024 was widely denounced by those involved in the fight against smoking. “To be effective, tax increases must be strong, repeated and continuous over time”reacted the National Committee against Smoking.
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Will this increase over the next four years allow for a “price effect” significant on the drop in consumption? “It’s not going to change anything. fears Loïc Josseran, president of the Alliance Against Tobacco, who is campaigning for a package costing at least 16 euros. This will not make an impression, and we can even wonder if the prevalence will not increase again, as between 2005 and 2010, when the price of the package stagnated. » The price in fact constitutes the “major lever”according to the professor of public health, who also points out “the need to finally enforce the ban on sales to minors among tobacconists”. “In interministerial arbitrations, it is clear that the voice of tobacco lobbies carries more than that of public health,” he laments.
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