November: Smoke-free month

What is tobacco-free month?

In November 2022 Smoke-Free Month is back for the seventh year running! It's a nationwide challenge to smokers, encouraging them to try and quit. By registering on the Smoke-Free Month website, participants benefit from day-by-day support throughout the month of November.

And why November?

Santé publique France's aim is to multiply incentives to stop smoking throughout the year. January and September are the months of good resolutions, and May 31 is World No-Tobacco Day. What's missing is a date at the end of the year to stimulate renewed interest in quitting smoking. It's that simple!

In concrete terms, what kind of support do you provide?

Smoke-Free Month offers tools to help people prepare for and quit smoking. These include a cessation kit available on the Tabac Info Service website and in pharmacies, and the Tabac Info Service remote help system accessible on 39 89 (free service + cost of a call), www.tabac-info-service.fr and via a Tabac info service smartphone application available in the App store and Play store.

Fight against smoking

Tobacco smoke is a mixture of gases and particles. When cigarettes are smoked, the 2,500 chemical compounds contained in unburned tobacco are transformed into over 4,000 substances, many of them toxic. These include nicotine, tars and flavoring agents, but there are many others, such as toxic gases and heavy metals.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), smoking kills more than 8.8 million people every year: over 7.7 million as a direct consequence of smoking, and around 1.2 million as a result of passive smoking. As the leading cause of avoidable death, cancer death and death before the age of 65, tobacco is responsible for almost one in eight deaths in our country. The national health strategy and the Priorité Prévention plan make the fight against tobacco a top public health priority.

Reducing the risk of cancer

Smoking is a major cause of disease, with a huge impact on public health. It is the leading cause of avoidable death, with an estimated 75,000 deaths in 2015. On average, one out of every two regular smokers dies from the consequences of his or her smoking. One cancer in three is caused by smoking. The best known is lung cancer, 80-90% of which is linked to active smoking. But other cancers are also caused by tobacco: throat, mouth, lips, pancreas, kidneys, bladder, uterus. Active smoking can also be the cause of cardiovascular disease: smoking is one of the main risk factors for myocardial infarction. Cerebrovascular accidents, arteritis of the lower limbs, aneurysms and high blood pressure are also partly linked to tobacco smoke.

Passive smoking: protecting your loved ones

Passive smoking is the act of inhaling the smoke released by one or more smokers (from the smoke emitted by the combustion of cigarettes or the smoke spat out by smokers). Passive smoking can affect the smoker's entourage, the people he or she comes into contact with on a daily basis, as well as the fetus in the womb, if the mother is a smoker.The smoking epidemic claims more than 8 million lives worldwide every year. More than 7 million of these are current or former smokers, and around 1.2 million are non-smokers involuntarily exposed to smoke. Among other things, passive exposure to tobacco smoke increases the risk of :

• Asthma attacks in children
• Sudden infant death syndrome
• Coronary accidents
• Lung cancers

To combat this phenomenon, French law has evolved. The Loi Évin (or January 10, 1991 law on the fight against smoking and alcoholism) banned smoking in public places and on public transport. Smokers must now go to specific smoking areas.

Anti-smoking solutions

At national level, several measures have been taken to combat smoking:

• An increase in the price of tobacco, which is a powerful deterrent to smoking and a strong incentive for smokers to quit.
• Smoking bans in public places and on public transport
• The reimbursement of nicotine substitutes, which since 2018 have been reimbursable at 65%, like any other medication, on prescription.
• Implementing a social marketing strategy (tobacco-free month, "pregnant woman" pictogram on cigarette packs, "smoking kills" slogan, etc.) to encourage and help smokers to quit, reduce the appeal of tobacco among young people and better inform pregnant women.
• A ban on all direct or indirect advertising of tobacco and tobacco-related products.
• The national tobacco control program 2018-2022 which defines 28 actions to be implemented over the next five years.

Find out more, find out more about anti-smoking measures in France.

What methods are effective for quitting smoking?

There are many ways to quit smoking: on your own or with support, all at once or gradually, with patches, gum... It's up to you to choose the method that suits you best! However, more than nine times out of ten, willpower alone is not enough to stop smoking. It is therefore strongly recommended that you seek the support of healthcare professionals. tips for quitting smoking. You can also discover the 9 tips from Tabac Info Service to help you choose the best strategy for quitting.

Tobacco-free month in the workplace

The aim of the month of November is to make as many people as possible aware of the harmful effects of smoking, and to help those who want to quit to do so. Companies too have an important role to play in the fight against smoking, and OuiLive is helping them to mobilize their teams via a connected Challenge. On the program: fun challenges, quizzes and polls... A participative and unifying event, centered around the public health themes of their choice.Don't wait any longer! See our catalog of themes.