In France, the proportion of smokers (occasional and daily) has fallen below a quarter of the population with a rate of 24%, a first since these figures began being monitored by the French Public Health Barometer in 2004.. After stagnating during the pandemic, smoking figures have been falling again since 2021, with 4 million fewer daily smokers.
A quarter fewer daily smokers since 2014
Read alsoTobacco shrinks the brain
“ Prevention works", welcomes Caroline Semaille, Director General of Public Health France, during a press conference. From 12 million in 2014 and despite two years of stagnation during the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of daily smokers has risen to 8.4 million, or 17.41% of the adult population. This rate is similar to that found among young people aged 18-24, with 181% of daily smokers. There were 29% in 2021, so that's good news.", comments Caroline Semaille. A first step towards the objective announced in the current National Tobacco Control Plan (PNLT 2023-2027) of achieving the first "tobacco-free generation", falling below the 5% mark of smokers, by 2032.
Adolescents are indeed experiencing a decline in tobacco consumption, with a fivefold reduction in the rate of daily smokers between 2015 (16% daily smokers) and 2024 (3.1%), reports the ESPAD 2024 survey by the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Trends (OFDT). On the other hand, the survey shows an increase in vaping among adolescents, which is a little less true among adults.", comments Viet Nguyen-Thanh, head of the Addictions Unit at Public Health France. 5.81% of them vape daily, and 161% occasionally.
Read alsoLife expectancy: 28% of the difference between men and women is due to tobacco
Smoking affects the less socioeconomically advantaged more strongly
“ These smoking figures are much lower than in previous studies, but they mask social inequalities", qualifies Viet Nguyen-Thanh. The proportion of smokers is thus twice as high among workers as among executives, demonstrating the weight of socioeconomic class in smoking and its cessation. " Less advantaged populations smoke more, and therefore potentially have a more significant addiction, and are less encouraged to quit because they are subject to a social norm more favorable to tobacco.“, analyzes Viet Nguyen-Thanh.
Read alsoSmoking and cardiovascular disease: quitting before age 40 reduces the risk of 90%
These disparities are also visible at the geographical level, with lower smoking in socioeconomically advantaged regions such as Île-de-France (14.6% daily smokers) or the Rhône-Alpes region (16%). The record goes to Martinique (9.5%), followed by Guadeloupe (9.6%) and French Guiana (10.4%). THE Socioeconomically more advantaged regions show on average less smoking. But according to our analyses, this is not the only factor at play: there may also be cultural factors around the image of tobacco and living conditions, but these data were not collected", comments Viet Nguyen-Thanh. Conversely, three regions are particularly marked by tobacco use: Grand Est (19.8%), Occitanie (20.6) and Provence Alpes Côtes d'Azur (20.9%). " In some border regions, tobacco purchases are made in neighboring countries such as Belgium or Spain where tobacco is cheaper.“, explains Viet Nguyen-Thanh.
On average five attempts to stop to succeed
Read alsoSmoking: reducing your consumption is not enough, only stopping is effective
To encourage people to quit smoking, the annual No Tobacco Month campaign is launching its tenth edition in November 2025. The goal is to encourage smokers to quit for 30 days, because after this point the chances of remaining a non-smoker are multiplied by five.", recalls Caroline Semaille. With proven effectiveness, since one euro invested in this campaign saves seven euros on health costs.
In 2024, 55% daily smokers would like to quit and 17.3% would say they have already tried at least one week in the last 12 months. It is not a failure to resume after just one attempt. Even unsuccessful attempts to quit are an integral step in the process of quitting for good.", recalls Caroline Semaille. It takes an average of five attempts to achieve weaning, according to the site Tobacco Information Service, a resource to help people quit smoking and on which 33,000 smokers have already registered for No Tobacco Month.
English 
French