Established as tobacco-free month, November can be the ideal time to quit smoking. The Tobacco-Free Village installed at the foot of Castillet in Perpignan, this Wednesday, November 6, offers a method and supports volunteers.
With 28.5% of daily smokers, Occitanie is, along with Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, one of the most tobacco-consuming regions in France. The Pyrénées-Orientales are not immune to the phenomenon. “In the department, 61% of pathologies caused by tobacco are cancers, 23% are cardiovascular diseases,” explains Franck Nivaud, local director of the Regional Health Agency. On the Tobacco-free Village installed at the foot of Castillet, he explains the challenges of this tobacco-free month of November.
“This is a program set up by Santé Publique France: 40 days to quit smoking. 10 days of preparation and 30 days of program. For this, voluntary smokers must know that they can be constantly supported. Let them have doubts, questions, temptations to go back in time in this village, here in Perpignan, all these partners are grouped together to help and support. “And it works. The tobacco-free November method offers 4 to 5 times more chance of quitting smoking,” assure Franck Nivaud. “An example of this growth in ownership: in 2022, 1,600 substitution treatments were prescribed in the Pyrénées-Orientales, 1,900 in 2023”.
Men smoke more than women
“With this event, the City of Perpignan demonstrates its commitment to this fight for a tobacco-free city, alongside all stakeholders,” specifies Catherine Pujol, former RN deputy, representative of the municipality.
According to a national Health Insurance survey, men smoke more than women. Depending on the region, they are from 20.6% (Centre-Val de Loire) to 33.2% (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur) while the prevalence of smokers varies from 19.1% (Normandy) to 26.6% (Occitanie). Fewer adults over 60 smoke every day. In the majority of regions, the highest rates of daily smokers are found among 31-45 year olds (29.7% to 38.8%).
The factors associated with daily smoking identified at the national level are found in most regions: being a man, being under 60 years old, having a level of education less than or equal to the baccalaureate and having a lower income level.
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