Lung cancer, throat, stroke, aneurysms, etc. Smoking is the cause of multiple diseases, and is also associated with a very strong health impact on the health of populations. According to Public Health France, one in two regular smokers dies from the consequences of their smoking. This is why almost 6 out of 10 daily smokers want to quit.
The latest Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin (BEH) published on May 28 by Public Health France, takes stock of the regions in which tobacco is consumed the most. Enough to help health authorities adapt their prevention methods.
Which regions smoke the most and which smoke the least?
On the podium of the three regions where the rate of smoking is the highest, we find in first position Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, where 29.5% of people aged 18-75 smoke every day. Just behind is Occitanie, where 28.9% of the people who live there are smokers. In third place on the podium, the Burgundy-Franche-Comté region stands out, which has around 27.4% smokers.
Conversely, it is in the Overseas Territories that the least amount of tobacco is consumed. In fact, only 1 in 10 adults smoke in Guyana (11.7%), Guadeloupe (11.9%) and Guyana (12.3%). An observation highlighted by the BEH: “In the overseas territories, the prevalence of daily smoking was significantly lower than in the mainland regions.” Concerning the metropolitan regions where there is less smoking, the Centre-Val-de Loire (21.9%), Île de France (21.9%) and Pays de la Loire (22.4%) bring up the rear. According to figures from the Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin (BEH), it is men aged under 60, with a diploma level of less than or equal to the baccalaureate and with a low income level who smoke the most.
Many smokers want to quit smoking
In all French regions, more than half of daily smokers say they want to stop smoking, as explained by the BEH. However, in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, smokers had a significantly lower proportion (50.7%) regarding their desire to quit smoking, compared to other regions. Conversely, many people living in Île-de-France want to stop smoking (64.6%). Likewise, depending on the region, between 20.8% and 35.2% of daily smokers had attempted to quit in the last 12 months.
Since 1998, the Tobacco info service telephone system (TIS, 39 89), managed by Public Health France, has been set up to support people in their journey of smoking abstinence. Between 2018 and 2020, 45,803 smokers were in contact with a tobacco specialist from Tabac info service. Among these people who were already trying to quit smoking before the first call from the tobacco specialist, 32.2% of them managed to quit smoking. “These results suggest that the TIS telephone device constitutes an effective aid for some smokers, in accordance with numerous studies carried out internationally,” explains Public Health France.
Sources :
- Weekly epidemiological bulletin, May 28, 2024, n°11 World No Tobacco Day, May 31, 2024 – Public Health France
- What are the health consequences of smoking? – Public Health France
