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Smoking in France

Smoking is regulated and allowed in France but there are some restrictions and regulations on tobacco. Under these regulations, the sale of cigarettes is permitted only in tobacco shops (le bureau de tabac) with a license. Purchasing cigarettes online and from vending machines is not permitted, while importing cigarettes for trade is allowed with an appropriate license. All forms of advertising of tobacco products including cigarettes are banned. Additionally, health warnings on cigarette packaging are required, the minimum legal age for purchasing them is 18 years, and there are legal restrictions on smoking in public places. Cigarettes are subject to a total taxation rate of 83.78%, and an excise tax rate of 12%. Despite these regulatory measures, in 2024, France had around 15.7 million current adult smokers, representing an adult current smoking prevalence of 28.3%. Among adult males, the current smoking prevalence was 31.5%, while among adult females it was 25.5% in 2024. Back in 2022, this prevalence was 29.2%. The adult daily smoking prevalence was 22.7% in 2023. Mortality data show that in 2021 tobacco smoking led to 54,940 deaths in the country, including 40,956 among males and 13,984 among females. Overall, smoking comprised 8.55% of all deaths in France in 2021, including 12.7% of male deaths and 4.37% of female deaths.

Read articles from France

May 29, 2018 by euronews.com

One million French smokers ditch habit in a year: survey

One million people in France quit daily smoking habits in the space of a year, according to a new survey by the country’s public health agency, which claims anti-smoking measures like neutral packaging are behind the decline.

In 2017, 26.9% of 18- to 75-year-olds smoked every day, compared to 29.4% a year earlier, according to the study by Public Health France, which described the results as “historic”.