France report calls for action to bring adult smoking to 15% by 2025

In France, the latest information (2010) indicates that 32% of men and 26% of women smoke daily. This daily smoking rate for women is among the highest in the world.

On 1 March, MP Mr Yves Bur presented a report (at the request of the Minister of Health, Mr Xavier Bertrand) on the current status of tobacco control in France and policy recommendations for the future.

The report calls for action to bring adult smoking to 15% by 2025, and to align policies fully with the WHO FCTC, which was ratified by France in 2004. Recommendations encourage strengthening the coordination of tobacco control at the governmental level, stopping the interference of the tobacco industry in public health policy making, increasing tobacco taxes and using innovative financing mechanisms to fund control and prevention of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), among other efforts to strengthen existing policies. It is expected that recommendations of this report will be part of debates of the ongoing presidential campaign in France (first round of elections is on April 22).