France urged to accept the science on how to stop smoking

France’s Parliamentary Office for Scientific and Technological Assessment has concluded that a drastic change in approach is required to get cigarette smokers to stop smoking, A report prepared by members of both chambers of the French Parliament recommends a risk reduction approach that offers smokers the chance to switch to much less harmful electronic cigarettes, writes Political Editor Nick Powell. French tobacco policy relies heavily on high taxation to discourage cigarette smoking. This has led to an influx of smuggled, counterfeit and other illicit cigarettes and a continued high smoking rate compared with many other European countries. [...]