Is tobacco use finally decreasing in France?

Tobacco is responsible for a third of all cancers, as well as a large proportion of cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases. Monitoring of the tobacco epidemic is necessary everywhere, in particular in non-English-speaking countries where until recently no decrease was seen in tobacco consumption. National population surveys have been conducted repeatedly on representative samples of both the adolescent and adult French population to evaluate trends in smoking behavior. A decrease can be noted in the population of adolescent smokers of both sexes-from 46% in 1977 to 30% in 1991. Among adults the overall figure is rather stable due to contrasting trends, with a general decrease among men (although not among young men aged 18 to 24) counterbalanced by an increase among women. Future health education efforts should focus on women of all ages but should not neglect young men, although the decrease observed among girls and boys is promising.