Help to stop smoking

More and more top-up healthcare insurance policies are now reimbursing treatments to help people stop smoking. 

State healthcare reimburses nicotine substitutes at 65% and some mutuelles top this up. You need a prescription from your GP (or from a nurse or dentist) or from a midwife in the case of pregnancy. 

Specialist tabacologues also exist for anti-smoking advice. Patches, pastilles etc can be bought from pharmacies and the tiers payant system can now be offered for this.

As the price of can mount up, to which may be added other costs like complementary medicines (acupuncture, homeopathy, hypnosis...) many top-ups now include cover. Smoking in play parks is banned and punishable by a fine of up to €450. Cigarettes must be sold in plain packaging and there is a ban on smoking in cars where minors are present.

Use of e-cigarettes as an alternative, or a way of cutting down, is popular. There is some evidence that they are less harmful (but long-term studies are lacking). 

France’s Tabac Info Service endorses this, saying that those who use only e-cigarettes do not inhale as many toxic substances as cigarette users. However, the World Health Organisation is non-committal, adding that using both is ‘probably’ even worse than just using ordinary cigarettes.

A phone app, Tabac info service, can provide personalised help to stop and there is also an official site at tabac-info-service.fr. 

The government also has a site aimed at helping people to set a goal of one month without smoking, as they say those who achieve this are likely to be able to stop for good.