On Monday 28 May 2018, the French Solidarities and Health Minister Agnès Buzyn reconfirmed the Government's strong commitment to tackling the tobacco pandemic at national level.

During a press conference organised for World No Tobacco Day, she declared that tobacco control is everyone's responsibility as the harm affects everyone. After describing the existing measures, including standardized packaging and increase in taxation, she then presented the four objectives of the new national tobacco control programme, which will be launched in the coming days:

1. To protect children from  starting using tobacco products;
2. To encourage and support smokers to stop;
3. To change the economy linked to tobacco;
4. To monitor, evaluate, research and disseminate knowledge related to tobacco.

Number one cause of premature deaths, tobacco still kills more than 73.000 people every year in France, where 13.5 million people currently smoke.  

Reference:

Solidarities and Health Minister Agnès Buyzn's speech in French:

http://solidarites-sante.gouv.fr/actualites/presse/discours/article/discours-d-agnes-buzyn-conference-de-presse-journee-mondiale-sans-tabac-du-31

Resources:

National tobacco control programme reports (in French)

• 2017:

http://solidarites-sante.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/rapport_annuel_pnrt_2017.pdf

• 2016:

http://solidarites-sante.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/rapport_annuel_pnrt_2016.pdf

• 2015:

http://solidarites-sante.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/rapport_annuel_pnrt_2015.pdf

Tobacco Epidemiological weekly report (28/05/2018) : 

http://invs.santepubliquefrance.fr/Publications-et-outils/BEH-Bulletin-epidemiologique-hebdomadaire/Archives/2018/BEH-n-14-15-2018