All over the world, people smoke less than before, but in 2022, smoking remains stable in France. These are the results of a study published by Public Health France, which questioned 3,229 adults by telephone, between March and July 2022, about their cigarette consumption. The results of this annual survey, published on the occasion of world no tobacco dayMay 31, are clear: after an unprecedented drop between 2016 and 2019, smoking has stabilized in France.
In 2022, in metropolitan France, 31.8% of 18-75 year olds said they smoked, and 24.5% of French people in this age group light at least one cigarette a day. This represents nearly 12 million daily smokers, and 15 million in total. 5.5% of 18-75 year olds say they vape. Public Health France, which publishes a similar study each year, had observed that in three years, between 2016 and 2019, the proportion of daily smokers in mainland France had fallen from 29.4% to 24%.
Blame it on Covid-19
But, since 2019, the public body has been worried about a flattening of the curve. Between 2019 and 2022, tobacco consumption remained stable in France. Worse: over the same period, the number of female smokers has increased. Still 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.
This stagnation is all the more alarming given that smoking is declining globally. A third of the world’s population over the age of 15 smoked in 2000, this proportion has now fallen to almost 20%. Out of a population of 8 billion people, smokers are estimated at more than 1 billion by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Cancer Society, which publishes each year “The Tobacco Atlas” (the tobacco atlas). The two organizations believe that this decline is explained by the anti-smoking measures taken by the States, but also by the increase in taxes.
Strong inequalities
The study also specifies that not everyone is equal when it comes to smoking: “The prevalence of daily smoking remains, in fact, significantly higher when the level of education 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.
Same observation for people with lower incomes, or the unemployed, who are more likely to smoke. Among 18-64 year olds, the prevalence of daily smoking remains significantly higher among people without a professional activity (42.3%), than among employed workers (26.1%) or students (19.1%).
Another lesson of the survey, the electronic cigarette is still a little more in the habits of the French. In 2022, 41.2% of people aged 18 to 75 say they have already tried vaping. Among them, the proportion of daily vapers is 5.5%. Public Health France does not observe a significant increase compared to 2021, but their share in the population has more than doubled since 2016.