France's Minister of Health and Prevention, Aurélien Rousseau, announced on Tuesday that the price of a pack of cigarettes will increase to a minimum of €13 by 2026, with an initial step to €12 in 2025. The announcement came as part of the presentation of the national program to combat smoking, which aims to "build the first smoke-free generation by 2032" in France, a commitment made by President Emmanuel Macron.
Rousseau emphasized that raising tobacco prices "is indeed the most effective measure against tobacco, according to the WHO and all independent studies on the subject." The anti-smoking program relies on two main pillars: "strengthening taxation and prohibitions surrounding tobacco."
Program Focuses on Preventing Youth Smoking and Supporting Cessation
The program's objectives include preventing people, especially the youngest, from starting to smoke and better supporting smokers in quitting, particularly those with limited means. Many brands currently reach a price of €11 for a pack of 20 cigarettes, which will increase to a minimum of €13 by 2026, with an initial step to €12 in 2025.
Cigarette pack prices are expected to increase as early as January 1, 2024, due to inflation, with an estimated rise of 40 to 50 cents, according to the Confederation of Tobacconists.
Ban on Disposable Vaping Products and Extension of Smoke-Free Spaces
In addition to the price hike, Rousseau announced that the government will ban "puffs," disposable vaping products popular among young people, calling them "an aberration both in terms of public health and the environment." The ban on the sale of these products will be implemented through a cross-party bill, examined by deputies in committee on Tuesday afternoon and in the chamber on December 4.
The minister also announced that smoke-free spaces will be extended to all beaches, public parks, forests, and the vicinity of certain public places, notably educational establishments. "Smoke-free will now be the norm," Rousseau affirmed, reversing the responsibility and setting this principle as the rule.
Neutral Packaging and Support for Smokers and Tobacconists
The anti-smoking plan also aims to continue the work of recent years to make tobacco less attractive by introducing neutral packaging, without brand logos, for all tobacco and vaping products.
To support smokers in quitting, the new "My Prevention Check-up" system, which the government intends to introduce at key ages in life, "will be an opportunity to systematize the detection of smoking," the ministry assures.
The various players in the tobacco economy, particularly tobacconists, will be supported "in a necessary transition to transform their profession."
As France moves forward with its ambitious anti-smoking program, the government hopes that a combination of price increases, prohibitions, and support for smokers and tobacconists will help create a smoke-free generation by 2032.
