November 1st marks the launch of tobacco-free month. More than 103,000 smokers registered on the website this year. Quitting cigarettes is hard. Former smokers spoke to RMC to tell what helped them make up their minds.
Tobacco-free month is also a collective challenge. Nearly six out of ten daily smokers want to quit smoking, according to a figure given by Santé Publique France. And there are already 1.4 million people who have taken up the challenge since 2016.
Adil has not heard the noise of addiction since November 2022. He stopped with one of his friends.
“Each time, he showed me an application and said ‘here I have gained three more years of life and 700 euros’,” he says.
At the rate of a pack and a half a day before for Adil, that’s “21,950 fewer cigarettes”. “That’s a lot of money,” he exclaims. After 17 years off work, Michel had never quantified how much he had saved. “150,000 euros? Oh dear, but I’m rich!”, he quips.
“It’s a feeling of freedom”
Michel smoked a lot, and it took him a long time to boot. Three minutes per cigarette, twenty times a day, that’s an hour saved. Time is precious for Amine, but there are better things. “It’s a feeling of freedom, no longer being dependent on something, especially nicotine,” he assures.
He managed to quit without anything. Even if stopping with nicotine substitutes is not a failure. And according to Doctor Marion Adler, tobacco specialist at APHP, the benefits of stopping smoking are felt very quickly.
“After 24 hours, we are well oxygenated. After one to two weeks, we stop coughing. And after a year, we significantly reduce cardiovascular risks,” she says.
And if you’re still not convinced, there’s nothing better than numbers. Remember that cigarettes kill 75,000 French people per year.
Solène Leroux with Guillaume Descours
