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Alice Denoize (tobacco specialist)
In a context where smoking persists in France, the government has decided to tighten the screw. The price of the package will increase and tobacco-free zones will be expanded. But are these measures effective? Alice Denoize, tobacco specialist, gives us her opinion.
New blow for smokers. You will soon have to pay (a lot) to smoke and cigarettes will be banned from certain outdoor places. Update on expected restrictions.
A pack of cigarettes should cost 13 euros
While the number of smokers has stagnated for several years, the Minister of Health, Aurélien Rousseau, presented this Tuesday morning his brand new plan to combat tobacco.
Concretely, the price of a packet of cigarettes will rise to 13 euros in 2026, with a first step at 12 euros in 2025. From January 1, 2024, the price of the packet will begin to increase: an increase of 40 to 50 cents is thus expected, according to estimates from the Confederation of tobacconists communicated to AFP on Monday.
A measure, which turns out to be “the most effective against tobacco, according to the World Health Organization and all independent studies on the subject”affirmed the minister during the press conference.
A measure considered insufficient according to anti-tobacco associations, who are calling for more dissuasive increases.
“We should be at least 16 euros in 2027“, insists Loïc Jessran, president of the Alliance against tobacco, at the microphone of Europe 1. “And there, indeed, we will be seeing increases which will dissuade young people from getting into smoking.”.
An insufficient increase for a real deterrent effect?
The National Committee Against Smoking affirms, for its part, that if the tax increases will be applied to tobacco, “they will remain marginal and correspond only to the indexation of taxation on inflation levels and in no way meet a public health objective… Especially since the first increase would only take place in 2025 and would increase the price of package at 12€ and 13€ in 2027. The government’s failure to increase tobacco prices in recent years has resulted in a stabilization of consumption in France at a very high level.“.
Interviewed on the subject, Alice Denoize, also ensures that this small increase in the price of the package “it’s not enough” to encourage smokers to quit smoking.
“Studies show that such small increases irritate smokers, that’s a fact, but they are not very dissuasive. These 50 cents remain a fairly slight variable; the smoker often manages to integrate this increase into his budget… Whereas if we increased the price of the pack by one euro, by two euros, it would be much more brutal for him. He would then tend to re-consider his tobacco consumption and his relationship with cigarettes to tell himself that it is the “right time” to stop.“
End of smoking on the beach and in parks
The government’s other flagship measure? The extension of tobacco-free spaces with a ban on the beach, in public parks, forests and around certain public places, notably schools. Beaches are particularly targeted, with numerous local prohibition orders in summer.
“Tobacco-free spaces – of which there are already more than 7,200 across more than 73 departments – are above all the result of a movement driven locally by the municipalities. Today we reverse the responsibility and establish this principle which becomes the rule“, confirms the Minister of Health.
A measure that excites tobacco specialist Alice Denoize.
“This is excellent news because this measure will contribute to the denormalization of tobacco. In particular, children will be confronted less and less with the sight of people smoking. The fact that we no longer have the right to smoke on beaches and in forests is also very good news. Our environment will be further protected. When smoking becomes very complicated, and you have to go to areas dedicated to tobacco, this has a real deterrent effect“, concludes the tobacco specialist.