Towards a tobacco-free generation? A new proposal could change how cigarettes are sold

What if some generations were simply no longer able to buy cigarettes, even once they came of age? That is the avenue put forward by the French health insurance system in its latest annual report. The aim is ambitious: creating a genuine “tobacco-free generation” by gradually closing off access to tobacco for people born after 2009.

A measure inspired by the United Kingdom

The idea is not entirely new. The United Kingdom recently adopted legislation that progressively bans the sale of cigarettes to people born on or after 1 January 2009. Each year, a further generation will therefore remain permanently excluded from buying tobacco products, whatever their age.

The health insurance fund considers that this approach could be adapted in France, in order to bring down the number of smokers over the long term and to prevent younger people from taking up smoking.

Why target generations born after 2009?

Most smokers start using tobacco before the age of 18. By closing off legal access to cigarettes for new generations, the authorities hope to break the renewal of the consumer base and gradually reduce the prevalence of smoking.

According to the health insurance fund, this strategy is part of a broader prevention policy. It would make it possible to reduce, in the long run, tobacco-related diseases such as cancers, cardiovascular disease and chronic respiratory conditions.

A major public health issue

Tobacco remains one of the leading causes of avoidable death in France. Every year it is responsible for several tens of thousands of deaths and represents a considerable cost for the health system.

Beyond the human consequences, the money spent treating diseases caused by smoking weighs heavily on public finances. That is why the health insurance fund wants to strengthen prevention policies rather than act on care alone.

A proposal that is up for debate

While the public health objective is widely shared, the measure raises several questions. Some are asking about its feasibility, how it would be enforced in tobacconists’ shops, or the risk that a parallel market would develop.

Others take the view that a progressive ban would be more effective than the successive increases in tobacco prices, which have sometimes shown their limits with certain consumers.

The proposal must now feed into political debate before any possible translation into law. No decision has been taken at this stage, but the idea marks a new step in the thinking about a society less dependent on tobacco.

Towards a lasting change in habits?

If it were adopted, the measure would be one of the most significant developments in French anti-smoking policy for several decades. Its ambition is clear: preventing smoking from taking hold among new generations rather than trying to convince them to stop once dependence has set in.

Whether France chooses to follow the British example, and to bring about a tobacco-free generation of its own, remains to be seen.