Gender, region, daily use... Who are the French who vape while cigarette consumption is decreasing?

A new report from the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Trends (OFDT), published this Tuesday, May 20, in partnership with Public Health France, highlights the increase in vaping in France.

This survey was carried out in 2023 on a representative sample of 14,984 adults aged 18 to 75 living in different regions of France.

"The proportion of adults reporting having vaped at some point in their lives has almost doubled in nine years, rising from 25.7% in 2014 to 41.8%" in 2023, the report explains.

Today, 8.3% of adults vape. This is most often a daily habit, representing 6.1% of 18- to 75-year-olds, which affects all categories of the French population. The study also reveals that "men are more often daily vapers" (6.8%) than women (5.4%).

The specificity of this report being the comparison between the different regions of France, it specifies that daily vaping is more common in Brittany and Normandy (8.5% and 8.1%). "This specificity of Brittany had already been observed in 2021."

While e-cigarette use is increasing, cigarette use is declining. "Between 2021 and 2023, daily smoking is on the decline: 23.1% of daily smokers in 2023 compared to 25.3% in 2021" in France, the OFDT indicates.

The French regions most affected by this lower cigarette consumption are Île-de-France and Brittany (19.6% and 19.5%). Conversely, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté have more daily smokers (26.5% and 26.8%).

"This decline in daily smoking is particularly marked among the unemployed." According to the study, the proportion of smokers among the unemployed fell from 45.8% in 2021 to 35.7% in 2023.

Good news just a few days before World No Tobacco Day on May 31.