Like Great Britain, France is preparing to launch its first tobacco-free month in November, according to the director general of Public Health France, the new national public health agency.
« The idea is to encourage smokers to quit smoking for 28 days in order to increase their chances of quitting by five.“, François Bourdillon told AFP.
He specifies that the operation entitled " me (s) without tobacco "" will be "The first great social marketing experience", a kind of « Tobacco telethon ”Which will mobilize in particular Tabac Info Service, an information and support system for smoking cessation that has been in existence since 1998. This system has already proven its worth thanks in particular to a coaching system by e-mail which has enabled 29% of those who have benefited from it become non-smokers within six months, according to Mr. Bourdillon.
The operation " me (s) without tobacco“, He specifies, will be relayed in particular by campaigns on radio and television as well as by the mobilization of partners such as the League against cancer, Pôle Emploi or Orange. The number of smokers who have decided to quit has increased significantly in Britain since the launch in 2012 of Stopover operation, which encourages Britons to quit smoking during the month of October.
Smokers are now only 18% of the population over the age of 15 against nearly a third in France, one of the poorest European students.
Over 70.000 deaths are attributed each year to tobacco in France, where a tobacco control program was launched by the Ministry of Health, providing that tobacconists will only be able to sell neutral cigarette packs, with no logo or specific color, from the January 1er.
Beyond the fight against smoking, the new public health agency intends to launch specific campaigns aimed at women in the fall: one to encourage them to have physical activity and thus prevent cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death. in women, and another advocating the absence of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, specifies Mr. Bourdillon.
The Public Health France agency was formally set up on May 1 with the objective of becoming a reference center, capable of intervening in the entire field of public health. It takes over the missions and skills of the three health agencies: the Institute for Health Surveillance (InVS), the National Institute for Prevention and Health Education (Inpes) and the Establishment for Preparedness and Response to Health Emergencies. (Eprus).
Will the e-cigarette be invited to this event? This is obviously the question we can ask, only time will tell.
Source : lexpress.fr
