To create a ‘smokeless generation’, the French National Insurance Institute has proposed a ban on the sale of cigarettes to people born after 2009. French Health Minister Stefanie Rist said this ‘with full support’ in an interview with France 1 television on March 3.
The French National Health Insurance Agency released its annual revenue and expenditure report on July 2. The report aims to provide a basis for the autumn budget debate. It proposed a significant measure: a complete ban on the sale of cigarettes to individuals born after 2009, with the goal of fostering an "smokeless generation" and thus implementing preventive measures in health policies. The agency stated that France should follow the example of the United Kingdom, which recently passed a law, making it the second country in the world to implement such a policy.
French Health Minister Tomáo Figueiredo said: "We don't need to be hesitant compared to other countries. France has the capability to implement this policy. Although France has taken various measures to control smoking, such as warning labels on cigarette packs and increasing tobacco taxes, the results of these measures are still not satisfactory compared to neighboring countries."
Finnish Health Minister Stefanie Rist expressed a positive attitude toward the proposal. She said that she personally supports this plan, having been a strong advocate of related ideas when she was a politician in the past. She explained that the current young people born in 2009 are only 17 years old and not yet adults, and therefore have no right to buy cigarettes. Therefore, a ban on their purchase could continue for a long time.
But she also emphasized that this represents only an individual stance. The implementation of the proposal by the Secretary of the Medical Insurance Bureau requires a unified decision from the government. The policy will involve many industry stakeholders, and related discussions still need to be advanced.
According to reports, French medical professionals believe that preventive healthcare is ‘the core battle of the next decade’, and it is also a public investment with high cost-effectiveness.
The health insurance authority estimates that after the full implementation of the proposal, annual costs could be saved by 3.9 billion euros, ensuring the financial sustainability of the healthcare system until 2030. Director Thomas Fathom added that France’s healthcare deficit is expected to reach 13.8 billion euros in 2026. According to the latest forecasts, the deficit will continue to worsen, reaching 15 billion euros in 2027 and 17 billion euros in 2029.
The other preventive policies proposed in the report include mandating that people over 12 years old wear helmets when riding bicycles or electric personal transportation devices. The background for this proposal is the continuous surge in commuting traffic accidents: the number of accidents increased by 7.6% in 2024, doubling compared to data from 2017.
Another suggestion: Launch a large-scale vaccination campaign for people aged 65 and above within two years, with the campaign being comparable to that for influenza vaccines. Currently, only 18.7% of the elderly have completed the vaccination process. Pneumonia and related infections cost between 2.7 billion and 3.4 billion euros annually in medical expenses.
Previously, both houses of the British Parliament have passed the Tobacco and Electronic Cigarette Act, prohibiting people born on or after January 1, 2009 from purchasing tobacco products.
In 2022, New Zealand banned the sale of cigarettes to people born on or after January 1, 2009. However, less than a year later, the relevant law was repealed after the government changed. In November 2025, Maldives announced that it would also ban the sale of cigarettes to people born on or after January 1, 2007.
