National and regional prevalence of smoking in France in 2021 among people aged 18–75, according to the Santé publique France Health Barometer

Introduction - Following an unprecedented decline in smoking rates in France between 2014 and 2019, prevalence stabilized in 2020. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis, the main objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of smoking in 2021 and to describe its recent trends. Method - The data used come from the Santé publique France Barometer, a telephone survey of a random sample of the population aged 18–85 residing in France, conducted between February and December 2021, with a total sample of 24,514 individuals in metropolitan France and 6,519 individuals in the overseas departments and regions (DROM). Results - In 2021, in metropolitan France, more than 3 out of 10 people aged 18–75 reported smoking (31.9%), and one-quarter reported smoking daily (25.3%). The prevalence of smoking has increased compared to 2019 (30.4%), while the trend in daily smoking is not significant (24.0% in 2019). However, an increase in daily smoking was observed between 2019 and 2021 among women (from 20.7% to 23.0%) and among people with no formal education or a level of education below the high school diploma (from 29.0% to 32.0%). In 2021, two regions had a higher prevalence of daily smoking than the rest of France: Occitanie (28.5%) and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (29.1%). Conclusion - The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on halting the decline in smoking prevalence in France cannot be ruled out. Social inequalities regarding smoking remain very pronounced.

Author(s): Pasquereau Anne, Andler Raphaël, Guignard Romain, Gautier Arnaud, Soullier Noémie, Richard Jean-Baptiste, Beck François, Nguyen-Thanh Viêt

Publishing year: 2022

Pages: 470-480

Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin, 2022, n° 26, p. 470-480

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