FIVE YEARS OF ANTI-SMOKING MEASURES IN FRANCE

[摘要] On 9 July 1976 the French parliament adopted a law which, while binding on advertisers, primarily appealed to the individual's sense of public duty and responsibility.The main provisions of this law were: a ban on all tobacco advertising on television and radio, in cinemas or by posters, and qualitative and quantitative restrictions on advertising in the press; a compulsory statement of the nicotine and tar content on each cigarette pack, together with the words "abuse is dangerous"; a ban on smoking in certain public places and on public vehicles.Within the information campaigns against smoking, three major series of educational messages were developed. The first series stresses the dangers of tobacco for health; the second calls for protection of the rights of non-smokers; and the third series, aimed particularly at young people, attempts to destroy the mystique of smoking and emphasizes its antisocial character.In 1975 about 44% of the adult population were smokers. After the information campaigns were launched this proportion fell to 36% in 1979. Within four years over 2 million French people stopped smoking.While the trend has not been so favourable among young people, the growth of smoking has nevertheless been arrested. In 1977, 46% of 12- to 18-year-olds said they smoked, even if only occasionally. Early in 1980 the corresponding figure was 43%.It can be seen very clearly that the spread of smoking in France has been halted and that tobacco consumption per smoker has been stabilized at the 1975 level.

[学科分类] 儿科学