DSince 1988, we have been questioning candidates for the presidency of the Republic on their commitment to implementing simple and effective public health measures. We have sometimes been heard, contributing in particular to the suppression of the promotion of tobacco, the right to breathe without smoke in public places and at work, the control of alcohol advertising and the reduction of mortality on the roads. . We have not always been listened to when certain measures, the effectiveness of which has been demonstrated, could have improved the health of the French people. This is why we are once again calling on the candidates for the presidential election.
Review of commitments made in 2017
We should welcome certain commitments made by the candidate Emmanuel Macron in 2017 and which have been kept. The price of the pack of cigarettes is 10 euros as promised. The nutritional information system on the front of food products (Nutri-score) was supported and physical activity promoted for the most vulnerable with 285 “sport-health” centres.
As far as road safety is concerned, the results are questionable. The change to 80 km/h for two-way lanes without a central separator was initially implemented. This measure saved 349 lives during the first twenty months of application on the network outside urban areas, off the motorway. This measure was then partially called into question at the end of 2019 by the mobility orientation law which left 33 departments to choose a return to 90 km / h. These departments have seen road deaths increase again.
As for the attitude of the President of the Republic concerning alcohol, it was constantly favorable to the mercantile interests of the industrial sector of alcohol producers. Yet alcohol is the first cause of hospitalization and the second avoidable cause of death in France. Despite all the promises, even the prevention message for pregnant women has not evolved, remaining invisible and illegible.
What solutions today?
The field of health being very vast, we have prioritized seven crucial themes: the health system, alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, nutrition, vaccination and road safety.
The Covid-19 epidemic has brought to light an eroded and under-equipped health system through a succession of restrictive reforms. The Ségur de la santé is an essential catch-up for the hospital as it is so overdue. Structural reforms are now expected to improve the functioning of our health system: the health care system, public health and in particular prevention, but also to rebuild a single and universal health and medico-social insurance system.
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