The toxic love affair between cigarettes and the French explained

Whether it's the morning coffee/cigarette combo, the mid-afternoon smoke break, or even the post-meal puff paired with a good glass of wine, the cigarette is omnipresent in the lives of the French. One could even say that smoking is one of the many clichés about the French. There is no doubt that if you asked a foreigner to describe an average French person, they would likely depict them complaining, with a Vogue in one hand and a baguette under the other arm. It is no surprise that the photo of Anthony Bourdain sitting in the sun at a Parisian terrace, accompanied by a baguette, a coffee, and a pack of Marlboro, quickly became a meme—it perfectly encapsulates Parisian culture. But where does this idea that the French are chain smokers come from? Is it a myth, a stereotype perpetuated by Americans who think Europe is just one big country, or is it a concerning reality?

Let's start from the beginning: where does the idea that the French smoke like dragons come from? It originates from their icons, celebrities who were famous beyond France's borders long before social media became one of the most popular sources of information. Among them are Jean-Paul Belmondo, Serge Gainsbourg, Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve, Alain Delon, and Coco Chanel, always elegantly dressed in black and white with her cigarette holder in hand. It was common in those days to see celebrities smoking not only in movies but also on television sets, indoors—pretty much everywhere. Even today, there is footage of French President Jacques Chirac smoking in the middle of a televised political debate. But let’s get back to actors. Indeed, cinema is one of the industries—if not the industry—that has, perhaps unintentionally, promoted smoking the most, both in France and abroad. A study conducted by the French Cancer League, analyzing 150 French films released between 2014 and 2019, found that tobacco appears in more than 90% of French films. It seems that the French smoke more on the big screen than in real life, with 65% of films showing one or more smokers, compared to only 25% of daily smokers in France at the time. The study also notes that tobacco is present in films for an average of 2.6 minutes—equivalent to six commercial spots.

These are worrying figures, considering that smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in France, with approximately 75,000 deaths per year. And while smoking-related deaths used to affect mostly men, the number of women dying from smoking-related illnesses doubled between 2000 and 2014, reaching more than 19,000. This increase is attributed to a generation of French women who started smoking in the 1970s, likely seeking a sense of freedom and lightheartedness during the hippie subculture era. However, recent research data brings good news: not only is the number of smokers in France declining, but fewer and fewer smokers are young people. While the French Gen-Z has plenty of addictions, such as social media and doom scrolling, it seems that smoking is fortunately not among them—unlike their Millennial and Boomer predecessors. In 2022, about 16% of 17-year-olds smoked daily, compared to 25% five years earlier.

Overall, according to data from the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Trends, out of the 51.2 million French people aged 11 to 75, 37 million have tried tobacco, with 15 million using it within the year and 11 million being daily consumers. This is a high number, of course, but it represents a significant improvement compared to previous years. Whether this victory is due to the increase in cigarette prices (with some brands now exceeding €10 per pack), the ban on tobacco advertising campaigns, or the ever-growing popularity of disposable vapes (which were also banned last February), one thing is clear: France's anti-smoking campaign appears to be working. If Flaubert once wrote, “Ah, without a pipe, life would be arid; without a cigar, it would be colorless; without chewing tobacco, it would be unbearable”, perhaps it is better to live a slightly more arid and colorless life than a shortened one.