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Malaysia Sun
3 days ago
- Health
- Malaysia Sun
Calls for France to follow UK with generational tobacco ban
France recently banned single-use vapes and nicotine pouches as part of its plan to foster a tobacco-free generation. But, as the world marks the annual World No Tobacco Day on Saturday, a group of public health advocates and MPs want to go further by introducing a generational tobacco ban similar to the UK's. Smoking is no longer as fashionable in France as it was in the days ofSerge Gainsbourgchain-smoking Gitanes on TV. Yet it remains the country'sleading cause of preventable death, killing around 75,000 people a year. It is also linked to heart disease, strokes, type 2 diabetes, asthma, dementia and fertility issues. Over the past 30 years, France has cracked down on smoking banning advertising of tobacco products in 1991, smoking in public places in 2007 and sales to under-18s in 2009, and introducing plain packaging in 2017. These efforts have paid totheFrench Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT), the number of regular smokers fell from 40 percent of adults in the mid-2010s to 23 percent in 2023 although this is still above the EU average. France becomes second European country to ban disposable e-cigarettes Only16 percentof 17-year-olds say they now smoke daily, down from 25 percent in 2017. Vaping, however, is on the rise, especially among teens, with around 6 percent using e-cigarettes daily. The recent bans on single-use vapes known as "puffs" and nicotine pouches are part of France'sNational Tobacco Control Planfor 2023-2027, which aims to reduce the adult smoking population to 20 percent by 2027, and teen smokers to 10 percent by 2028. The ultimate goal: a tobacco-free generation by 2032, with only 5 percent of under-18s smoking. Severing the link The best way to reach that goal is to prevent young people from starting smoking, says Professsor Loic Josseran, head of the Alliance Against Tobacco (ACT). "We know that 90 percent of smokers begin under the age of 18," he said. "The ban on sales to minors simply isn't enforced, there are no penalties and no controls." Losseren is calling for a UK-stylegenerational tobacco ban, which wouldprohibit sales of tobacco products to anyone born after 1 January, 2009 effectively raising the smoking age by one year each year until it applies to the whole population. The law, passed by the UK Parliament in March, is expected to take effect in January 2027. Earlier this week, ACT and France's public health agency (SPF) met with MPs to begin working on a similar initiative. Their proposal would make it illegal to sell tobacco including cigarettes, cigarillos and rolling tobacco to anyone born in 2014 or later, throughout their lives. "This measure, which may seem radical, is in fact an extension of the ban on sales to minors," Josseren argues. ACT says7 out of 10French people support the idea of a tobacco-free generation. It aims to place youngsters in a non-smoking, non-consuming environment severing contact with tobacco. "Since they won't have started smoking, they won't want to buy tobacco... We're not depriving them of anything, we're just offering them better health." He stressed that the measure targets sales, not consumption, and adult smokers will still be able to buy and consume tobacco. New Zealand was the first country to pass such a law in 2022, althoughit was scrapped by a subsequent coalition government in February 2024 to help fund tax cuts. Denmark, Malaysia and the American state of Nevada are also debating introducing similar legislation. 'Political courage' The UK law, initially proposed by the then-Conservative government and picked up by its Labour successor, earned broad cross-party backing, despite a few MPs on the right branding it an attack on personal freedom. In France, however, Josseran says gaining support "will need real political courage". So far, two MPs Nicolas Thierry from the Greens and Michel Lauzzana from the centre-right Ensemble coalition support the idea. Both were involved in the recent ban on puffs. But many remain hesitant. "A few are interested, but many are more concerned with the tobacco industry's arguments," Josseren says, noting that every MP has tobacconists in their constituency. "They fear they'll say: 'Be careful, if you bother me I'll tell everyone not to vote for you'." French tobacconists protest at anti-smoking law He acknowledges that a generational tobacco ban would eventually force tobacconists out of business. Meanwhile, he claims the industry is lobbying hard, pouring "several million euros into the National Assembly each year" to block public health laws. The industry is also diversifying. "We're seeing the creation of a nicotine market in which young people can choose between nicotine gum, beads, cigarettes, heated tobacco, chicha, vape..." He added: "It took us two years to ban puffs and already manufacturers are marketing new ways of delivering nicotine. That's why we need an umbrella law to prevent all these new forms coming on to the market." Environmental focus The tobacco industry defends its role in the French economy, citing job creation and tax revenues. Seventy-five percent of the price of a packet of cigarettes is tax an important source of income for the government, at a time when the state coffers are empty. Yet the OFDT says the financial equation weighs heavily against the state. While tobacco brings in around 13 billion per year, healthcare costs and losses in productivity due to early death or illness amount to 20 billion. The total cost of tobacco to French society in 2019 was estimated at 156 billion, including environmental damage and social impact. Cigarette butts, the plastic pollution that's hiding in plain sight Each of the 30 billion cigarette butts discarded annually in France pollutes up to 500 litres of water. Josseren calls it an "environmental horror" involving deforestation, land-grabbing, child labour and pesticide use. "It's an industry that plunders and crushes life everywhere it goes," he says. "The only thing it grows is profits." Anti-smoking campaigns now increasingly focus on tobacco's environmental footprint, which resonates more with young people than health warnings. "Saying that smoking isn't good, that we're going to die from smoking in 40 years' time, doesn't interest young people. I can't blame them," he said. "We have to explain that the environment is the real lever protecting the environment, respecting others. That can lead them to turn away from these products. That's our approach." Originally published on RFI
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Calls for France to follow UK with generational tobacco ban
France recently banned single-use vapes and nicotine pouches as part of its plan to foster a tobacco-free generation. But, as the world marks the annual World No Tobacco Day on Saturday, a group of public health advocates and MPs want to go further – by introducing a generational tobacco ban similar to the UK's. Smoking is no longer as fashionable in France as it was in the days of Serge Gainsbourg chain-smoking Gitanes on TV. Yet it remains the country's leading cause of preventable death, killing around 75,000 people a year. It is also linked to heart disease, strokes, type 2 diabetes, asthma, dementia and fertility issues. Over the past 30 years, France has cracked down on smoking – banning advertising of tobacco products in 1991, smoking in public places in 2007 and sales to under-18s in 2009, and introducing plain packaging in 2017. These efforts have paid off. According to the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT), the number of regular smokers fell from 40 percent of adults in the mid-2010s to 23 percent in 2023 – although this is still above the EU average. France becomes second European country to ban disposable e-cigarettes Vaping, however, is on the rise, especially among teens, with around 6 percent using e-cigarettes daily. Read more on RFI EnglishRead also:France to ban smoking on beaches and close to schoolsEU moves to ban smoking and vaping in outdoor spacesCigarette butts, the plastic pollution that's hiding in plain sight
Daily Mail
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Drug dealing 'cancer' has reached every corner of France with no 'safe places' left and even 'the slightest rural village has cocaine and cannabis, justice minister admits
France is suffering a ' cancer ' of drug dealing, with no 'safe places' left, the country's justice minister admitted as he positions himself for a presidential run. Gérald Darmanin said in a recent interview that even the 'smallest rural town' in France is now 'familiar with cocaine and cannabis'. 'Drugs, for example, have always existed, but today we can clearly see that in the smallest rural town, they know about cocaine, cannabis.' 'Beforehand, drugs were simply in big towns [and cities] or the metro,' he told Legend in an interview published on Sunday. 'What really strikes the French is that it has become widespread, metastasized,' he added. 'It's no longer just in the places where we were looking for the potential problem' he added, suggesting France has become 'more violent'. Darmanin voiced support for sweeping security measures to ensure a 'safe society' - a risky curtailing of personal liberties as he looks towards the 2027 presidential election. 'If you want a safe society, you need facial recognition, for example, which we don't have today.' 'It's thanks to AI applied to cameras that we are able to observe crowd movements, that we were able to observe strange behavior,' he added. The former Minister of the Interior said France 'thwarted three attacks during the Olympic Games', arresting an 18-year-old Russian national suspected of planning to commit an 'Islamist-inspired' attack in Saint Etienne. Illustrating his argument, Darmanin added: 'In Dubai, we see your face and we know your identity, what your criminal record is, if you are wanted.' Asked by interviewer Guillaume Pley why France had not adopted such measures, he referenced 'paranoia about technology' and 'civil liberties'. 'Unfortunately, Parliament has always opposed it until now. We must all evolve for the safety of the French,' he added in a post on X on Monday, after the interview aired. Not all agreed. Jean-Philippe Tanguy, deputy of the French National Assembly, jibed: 'Does the Minister of Justice know that he was Minister of the Interior for years?' 'Taking the French for fools by making so-called strong statements when the death toll is so low and catastrophic is still crazy,' he added. Cocaine use in France has nearly doubled in a matter of a few years, according to a recent study. An estimated 1.1 million people took the drug at least once in 2023 - up from 600,000 when the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT) last published its report in 2022. France now ranks 7th in Europe for cocaine consumption. Ivana Obradovic, deputy director at OFDT, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that part of the reason for the increase in drug use was 'the evolution of working conditions'. People were using cocaine to cope with intense workloads or tough working conditions, she said. Perception of drug purity, and the relative stability of price, may have also contributed to the change, she suggested. While prices have remained virtually unchanged, the purity of cocaine is said to be on the rise. Data from the EU's drug monitoring agency EMCDDA showed how a relative price of 100 in 2011 had fallen to 98 by 2021. A benchmark purity of 100 meanwhile climbed to 143 in the same period. The rise of drug gangs has seen violence flare up. Ten people were killed last year in such clashes. As many as 341 were injured, The Times reports. Darmanin, with President Emmanuel Macron's liberal Renaissance party, announced in late April that he would like to be president and was 'working' on a platform. Macron himself will be unable to run in 2027 after serving two consecutive terms. The 2024 election, called by Macron following the European Parliament elections last June, saw growing divisions in the French National Assembly. In the EP elections, Marine Le Pen's National Rally came out as the leading party, with 31.4 per cent of the vote. Rallying against the hard right, the left wing alliance New Popular Front won 188 seats in the legislative elections - short of a majority, but ahead of the 142 won by the National Rally. Ensemble, Macron's centrist coalition, lost, but took 161 seats, which was higher than pollsters predicted. 289 seats were needed for an overall majority in the 577-seat assembly. Separately, in his interview on Sunday, Darmanin apologised for the first time to Liverpool supporters for the policing operation at the 2022 Champions League final in Paris. Darmanin said 'we got the measures wrong' in the interview broadcast on YouTube. The final between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Stade de France was overshadowed by a 37-minute delay to kick-off as fans struggled to access the entrances after being funnelled into overcrowded bottlenecks as they approached the stadium. Darmanin initially blamed Liverpool fans for the disorder and claimed many had turned up without tickets. Three years on, he admitted in the interview that the authorities had got it wrong. 'Yes, it was a failure,' said Darmanin. 'Because I hadn't checked what was happening properly, which was my mistake, and because I gave in to preconceived ideas. 'I apologise to Liverpool fans. Of course they were right to (feel angry).' Nervy police fired tear gas towards thousands of supporters locked behind metal fences on the perimeter of the stadium. Liverpool fans had to suffer a series of false claims in the aftermath of the chaos. European football's governing body UEFA initially tried to pin the blame on supporters arriving late despite thousands having been held for hours outside the stadium before kick-off. The French authorities then claimed an 'industrial-scale fraud' of fake tickets was the problem. A French Senate enquiry later concluded that poorly-executed security arrangements were the cause of the mayhem. An independent report found UEFA bore 'primary responsibility' for the failures which almost led to the match becoming a 'mass fatality catastrophe'. The report added it was 'remarkable' that no one was killed on the night of the final.
Local France
16-03-2025
- Local France
French customs seize 800kg of cocaine from truck
Officers seized the 826 kilogrammes of drugs on Saturday just off the autoroute leading to the city of Lyon and arrested the truck's Polish driver, the source said. The intercepted cargo is estimated to be worth around 24 million euros ($26 million), based on an average wholesale price of 30,000 euros (more than $32,000) per kilo. A gramme is usually sold for around 58 euros ($63). In total, French customs seized 53.5 tonnes of cocaine last year, more than double the quantity for the previous year. Cocaine use has nearly doubled in France, according to one study. Some 1.1 million people used cocaine at least once in 2023, the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT) said in a report in January. The previous report, released in 2022, put the number of users at 600,000. The new figures put France in seventh place in Europe in terms of cocaine consumption.
Daily Tribune
16-03-2025
- Daily Tribune
France customs seize 800kg of cocaine from truck
AFP | Paris, France French customs authorities have seized over 800 kilograms of cocaine from a truck at a highway rest area in southeastern France, a source close to the case confirmed on Sunday. The 826-kilogram haul was intercepted on Saturday near the autoroute leading to Lyon, with officers arresting the truck's Polish driver. The estimated street value of the seized cocaine is approximately €24 million ($26 million), based on a wholesale price of €30,000 (over $32,000) per kilogram. A gram typically sells for around €58 ($63). France has seen a significant rise in drug seizures, with customs authorities confiscating 53.5 tonnes of cocaine last year—more than double the amount seized in the previous year. Cocaine consumption in France has also surged. According to the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT), 1.1 million people used cocaine at least once in 2023, nearly double the 600,000 reported in 2022. These figures place France as the seventh-highest consumer of cocaine in Europe.
