Attempts to quit smoking during the "Month Without Tobacco" campaign (2016–2019): results from the Santé publique France Health Barometers

In October 2016, Santé publique France launched the first edition of the "Mois sans tabac" initiative, a national campaign based on the principles of social marketing. Inspired by the British "Stoptober" campaign, it has been held annually ever since. The main goal of this campaign is to encourage smokers to quit smoking for 30 days in November. It relies on a multimedia media campaign, smoking cessation support services (website, 3989 helpline, app, cessation kit, etc.), and the implementation of community-based initiatives to raise awareness of the program and offer face-to-face cessation support. The evaluation of this initiative’s effects is based on Santé publique France’s Health Barometer, a series of repeated telephone surveys conducted among random samples of the population aged 18 to 75 and residing in France. In total, 12,477 daily smokers at the launch of each edition of Mois sans tabac between 2016 and 2019 were included in this analysis. The rate of quit attempts in the last quarter among these smokers increased steadily between 2016 (15.9%) and 2019 (24.4%). Among all daily smokers at the start of “Mois sans tabac,” the rate of quit attempts directly attributable to the campaign rose from 2.9% in 2016 and 2017 to 4.8% in 2018, before stabilizing in 2019 (4.3%). Over the entire 2016–2019 period, approximately 1.8 million quit attempts were attributable to Tobacco-Free Month, more than double the number of online registrations for the campaign (n=784,874). This means that the campaign’s impact extends beyond just online registrants and that it is useful to have a tool to track its effects on quit attempts made by smokers in the general population. The significant increase in the number of quit attempts observed between 2017 and 2018 is part of a major overhaul of communication materials, including the creation of new television commercials and a revamped digital strategy, combined with a substantial increase in the advertising budget. These two factors may have restored visibility and renewed interest in participating in the campaign among smokers.

Author(s): Guignard Romain, Gautier Arnaud, Andler Raphaël, Soullier Noémie, Nguyen-Thanh Viêt

Publishing year: 2021

Pages: 284-289

Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin, 2021, n° 16, p. 284-289

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