The law prohibiting the sale of tobacco to minors is not respected in France: two tobacconists out of three sell it to minors 17 years and nearly one in ten to 12 year old children, alert an investigation of the National Committee against smoking.
92% of tobacconists in Ile-de-France sell tobacco to minors under 17
"Tobacco is a very tough drug, as three boys or girls who smoke a cigarette to see, there are two who will become daily smokers for a period of their life. ", told AFP Professor Yves Martinet, president of the CNCT. "That's why it's important to prevent sales to minors," he says. 65.2% of tobacconists sell tobacco to minors under 17, 10% agree to sell it to 12 year olds.
More than 40% of tobacconists do not have the plain and visible sign of the prohibition of sale to minors and "less than one tobacconist out of five enforces the law that requires him to ask for proof of age by a ID, "says Professor Martinet. The survey also shows that the law is less respected in medium and large cities: in Ile-de-France, 92% of tobacconists sell to minors 17 years.
"We have not considered this topic enough, it is intolerable, we are going to take this work in hand, with a goal of zero defects, by raising awareness and training," says Philippe Coy, President of the Confederation of tobacconists. As part of a multi-year plan, the training of tobacconists (24,500 in France) "a day every three years", provided by the Confederation, will include a "module on the prohibition of sale to minors and compliance with regulations in general ", like that of new entrants into the profession - 2,500 every year - he says.
A survey conducted with "mystery shoppers"
The survey was conducted from 16 April to 11 May 2019 by BVA with "mystery shoppers" from a representative sample of 527 tobacconists. Each "mystery" visit was conducted by a minor aged 12 or 17 (as many girls as boys) and an adult. It was funded by the Tobacco Control Fund. According to the CNCT, smoking is "a pediatric epidemic", with most people starting to smoke their first cigarette around 13-14 years of age and every year in France, more than 200,000 young people fall into the trap of this drug.
Nearly a quarter of 17-year-olds (23%) are daily smokers and nearly six in ten young French people have tried smoking. This level is the lowest measured by the Escapad survey since 2000 but remains particularly high, the committee notes. The ban on the sale of tobacco products to minors is an effective measure, underlines the CNCT, which calls for the organization of controls of tobacco outlets including the possibility of administrative closure of variable duration in case of recidivism.
Countries in the process of achieving tobacco-free generations, such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, have adopted an arsenal of anti-smoking measures and "rigorously apply the no-sale measure to minors".