Has the health crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic had an impact on tobacco consumption? This is the hypothesis made by Public Health France (SPF) in its latest barometer on the prevalence of smoking in France in 2021, published Monday, December 12.
“An impact of the social and economic crisis linked to Covid-19 which followed cannot be excluded concerning the interruption of the decline in the prevalence of smoking in France and the increase observed among certain populations”, explains SPF in its note. Between 2014 and 2019, an unprecedented drop had however been observed in France among adults (from 28.5% to 24%).
According to SPF, the number of smokers is estimated at 15 million in France, including 12 million daily smokers. Of this total, there are 5.5 million daily smokers – some 7 million, if occasional smokers are included. After a sharp decrease between 2017 and 2019, female smoking has started to rise again, in all age groups, except among 25-34 year olds, the age when maternity is often considered and where the incentive not to start smoking or to quit is strong.
The new SPF figures do not fail to alert. The survey, conducted by Ipsos from February 11 to December 15, 2021 among 24,514 people aged 18 to 85, reveals an increase in daily smoking between 2019 and 2021 among women (from 20.7% to 23%) and among the least educated (29% to 32%). “The weight of the various confinements has undoubtedly had an impact on the smoking of these two categories of people for whom cigarettes are a means of relieving stress”says François Beck, director of prevention and health promotion at SPF.
The price policy of the package in question
During the various confinements, numerous studies have shown that women have been particularly affected by the economic impacts of the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Several Coconel surveys (coronavirus and confinement: longitudinal survey) carried out by the National Institute for Demographic Studies (INED) have highlighted the fact that they presented more frequent signs of psychological distress than in men, that they had experienced a deterioration in their working conditions, and, for those who teleworked, less often had a room for them. Not to mention the pressure of school at home and the management of daily life.
Another lesson from the SPF barometer: between 2019 and 2021, the prevalence of tobacco also increased among the least educated, to 32% against 29%, while it is only 17% among those with a higher education qualification. baccalaureate. Moreover, the higher the income, the less one smokes. Among 18-64 year olds, smoking is more common among unemployed people than among working people (45.7% against 26.6%).
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