On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, set for 31 May, the government is launching a new awareness campaign. The objective: to dismantle the received ideas on smoking. Here are three misconceptions about tobacco that must be banished to measure the risks involved.
Contrary to popular belief, smoking is never without health risks.
To get this message across, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health's new awareness campaign first reminds us that lung cancer is not just for seniors.
It also affects smokers as young as 35. In other words, youth does not protect you from this risk.
It's important to set the record straight because in a 2010 survey, 35% of smokers surveyed believed that Smoking can only cause cancer 'if you smoke a lot and for a long time'.
Another misconception is that practicing a sport will protect you from the harmful effects of smoking...
70% of the people questioned in the 2010 Cancer Barometer still thought that 'playing sport cleans the lungs'.
Alas no, doing sport, even every day, does not protect smokers from cancer.
Even if you think you have a healthy lifestyle because you move every day, it's not enough to clean your lungs and minimize your risk.
All the little smokers say so, but it's not true! Smoking a few cigarettes a day has an impact on your health.
Even low Smoking multiplies the risks.
For example, Smoking 'only' four cigarettes a day multiplies the risk of heart attack by three times.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Santé publique France agency will launch this campaign on 31 May 2016 to set the record straight on the risks of smoking.
Received ideas about tobacco are not only false, they are dangerous because they lead some smokers to think that they risk nothing because of their youth, physical activity or low consumption...
As proof that smoking remains a major risk factor, Health Minister Marisol Touraine announced on May 18, 2016, the creation of a smoking prevention fund endowed with 32 million euros and designed to encourage smokers to give up cigarettes.
France should also, on the model of our British neighbors, organize in November its first 'month without tobacco' to encourage smokers to stop.
If you say to yourself 'I'm quitting tomorrow', you should know that the Tabac Info Service can provide you with help on the website below, by telephone on 39 89 or via the mobile application and its e-coaching programme.
Author Audrey on 15 November 2021
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