Towards a tobacco ban for generations born after 2009

The French National Health Insurance Fund (Assurance Maladie) is proposing a new step in the fight against smoking by banning the sale of cigarettes to people born after 2009. This measure, presented in its annual "Expenses and Revenues" report, aims to create a generation that will never be able to legally purchase tobacco. The agency believes this change would strengthen prevention policy in France in a lasting way.

The director general of the National Health Insurance Fund, Thomas Fatôme, pointed out that other countries had already taken this path, citing the United Kingdom in particular. According to him, despite price increases and health warnings imposed for several years, France remains behind many of its neighbors in the fight against tobacco.

A broader prevention strategy

Beyond tobacco, the French National Health Insurance (Assurance Maladie) recommends making the Nutri-Score label mandatory on all packaged food products, along with an indication of their level of ultra-processing. It also advocates mandatory helmet use for cyclists and motorized personal mobility devices for those over 12 years of age, as well as a large-scale pneumococcal vaccination campaign for people over 65.

These proposals come against a backdrop of a sharp deterioration in the finances of the national health insurance system, whose deficit is expected to reach €13,8 billion this year and continue to grow in the coming years. The organization estimates that its recommendations, supplemented by several cost-saving measures for healthcare spending, could generate nearly €3,9 billion in annual savings by 2030.