Economics Portfolio - May 2025
Commentary 1
Title of the article: “France unveils cigarette price hike and public spaces ban under new
restrictions to tackle smoking” Source of the article: Euronews
https://www.euronews.com/health/2023/11/29/france-unveils-cigarette-price-hike-and-pu
blic-spaces-ban-under-new-restrictions-to-tackle (Accessed 5 May 2024)
Date the article was published: 29 November 2023
Date the commentary was written: 5 May 2024
Word count of the commentary: 796
Unit of the syllabus to which the article relates: Microeconomics
Key concept being used: Intervention
Article 1
France's health ministry unveiled a new plan on Tuesday to tackle cigarette smoking in the
country, including bans on smoking in parks and on beaches.
From hiking the price of a pack of cigarettes to banning smoking in parks, France has announced
a raft of new measures to reduce the number of smokers.
As part of a new plan, the government will increase prices to €13 a pack in 2027, ban disposable
e-cigarettes, and ban smoking in public spaces such as parks, beaches, forests and other public
areas.
Their aim is to create a generation "free of tobacco" by 2032.
,"Tobacco plays a key role in illnesses and preventable mortality," said health minister Aurélien
Rousseau, "and every day France pays a heavy price for smoking".
Cigarette smoking is the top cause of preventable death in France, resulting in 75,000 deaths per
year. It's also the top cause of premature death before the age of 65, the health minister said.
"Despite these figures, despite the chilling reality of these figures, the daily use of tobacco
concerns 12 million of our fellow citizens, one-fourth of the adult population," he added.
According to Eurostat, the daily percentage of smokers in France is higher than the EU average.
Around 22.2 per cent of people aged 15 and older smoke daily in the country compared to 19.7
per cent in the EU.
Prices of cigarettes will rise gradually - with a pack costing €12 in 2025 and €13 in 2027, the
government said. A pack is currently priced between €10-11.
"An essential part of these new measures is that support for smokers will be strengthened
because successfully quitting smoking is not easy," Rousseau added in a statement.
"This support will benefit everyone, but I insist on the fact that targeted actions will be carried
out towards the most exposed groups, in particular the most vulnerable".
Rousseau said the country also wanted to support people who sell cigarettes to help them reduce
dependence on tobacco-related income.
According to Daniel Nizri, president of the French charity the League Against Cancer, the
"number of smokers is stagnating".
"If we want to reduce it, and in particular prevent younger people from starting to smoke, it is
urgent to act on a large scale and to extend the ban on smoking in public spaces, near schools and
in parks frequented by children," he said.
"After having encouraged and supported communities in the establishment of Tobacco-Free
Spaces, we are delighted to see this measure becoming widespread and are fully mobilised to
support its implementation".
A report published in August found that France lost more money to lives lost and prevention
spending on alcohol and tobacco use than it gains from taxes on those products.
, Tobacco smoking costs the state €156 billion, the report said, including the economic value of
lives lost, the loss of quality of life for patients with cancer caused by smoking, and state
spending on prevention and care.
Tobacco consumption is also the most significant cause of premature death in the European
Union and kills around 700,000 people every year. Around half of smokers die prematurely,
according to the EU.
Many countries have recently attempted to prevent people from smoking and vaping.
Australia's government said this week that they would ban imports of single-use e-cigarettes this
week to prevent younger adults from smoking them.
Commentary 1
This article focuses on France's latest attempt to reduce the number of smokers within the
country. Through measures such as setting the minimum price and banning smoking in public
spaces the government aims to address the market failure associated with negative externalities
arising from tobacco consumption, which is a demerit good. The focus is on the key concept
chosen - intervention, where the government takes measures to correct inefficiencies in the
market. By examining how these interventions seek to incorporate the social costs of smoking
while promoting public health, this commentary aims to assess the effectiveness of these
interventions in achieving societal well-being.
Cigarettes are classified as a demerit good because they damage the smoker's health while also
affecting a third party, producing the negative externality of damage by second-hand smoke. The
market for cigarettes representing the negative externality of consumption of cigarettes is
illustrated in Figure 1 below.
Commentary 1
Title of the article: “France unveils cigarette price hike and public spaces ban under new
restrictions to tackle smoking” Source of the article: Euronews
https://www.euronews.com/health/2023/11/29/france-unveils-cigarette-price-hike-and-pu
blic-spaces-ban-under-new-restrictions-to-tackle (Accessed 5 May 2024)
Date the article was published: 29 November 2023
Date the commentary was written: 5 May 2024
Word count of the commentary: 796
Unit of the syllabus to which the article relates: Microeconomics
Key concept being used: Intervention
Article 1
France's health ministry unveiled a new plan on Tuesday to tackle cigarette smoking in the
country, including bans on smoking in parks and on beaches.
From hiking the price of a pack of cigarettes to banning smoking in parks, France has announced
a raft of new measures to reduce the number of smokers.
As part of a new plan, the government will increase prices to €13 a pack in 2027, ban disposable
e-cigarettes, and ban smoking in public spaces such as parks, beaches, forests and other public
areas.
Their aim is to create a generation "free of tobacco" by 2032.
,"Tobacco plays a key role in illnesses and preventable mortality," said health minister Aurélien
Rousseau, "and every day France pays a heavy price for smoking".
Cigarette smoking is the top cause of preventable death in France, resulting in 75,000 deaths per
year. It's also the top cause of premature death before the age of 65, the health minister said.
"Despite these figures, despite the chilling reality of these figures, the daily use of tobacco
concerns 12 million of our fellow citizens, one-fourth of the adult population," he added.
According to Eurostat, the daily percentage of smokers in France is higher than the EU average.
Around 22.2 per cent of people aged 15 and older smoke daily in the country compared to 19.7
per cent in the EU.
Prices of cigarettes will rise gradually - with a pack costing €12 in 2025 and €13 in 2027, the
government said. A pack is currently priced between €10-11.
"An essential part of these new measures is that support for smokers will be strengthened
because successfully quitting smoking is not easy," Rousseau added in a statement.
"This support will benefit everyone, but I insist on the fact that targeted actions will be carried
out towards the most exposed groups, in particular the most vulnerable".
Rousseau said the country also wanted to support people who sell cigarettes to help them reduce
dependence on tobacco-related income.
According to Daniel Nizri, president of the French charity the League Against Cancer, the
"number of smokers is stagnating".
"If we want to reduce it, and in particular prevent younger people from starting to smoke, it is
urgent to act on a large scale and to extend the ban on smoking in public spaces, near schools and
in parks frequented by children," he said.
"After having encouraged and supported communities in the establishment of Tobacco-Free
Spaces, we are delighted to see this measure becoming widespread and are fully mobilised to
support its implementation".
A report published in August found that France lost more money to lives lost and prevention
spending on alcohol and tobacco use than it gains from taxes on those products.
, Tobacco smoking costs the state €156 billion, the report said, including the economic value of
lives lost, the loss of quality of life for patients with cancer caused by smoking, and state
spending on prevention and care.
Tobacco consumption is also the most significant cause of premature death in the European
Union and kills around 700,000 people every year. Around half of smokers die prematurely,
according to the EU.
Many countries have recently attempted to prevent people from smoking and vaping.
Australia's government said this week that they would ban imports of single-use e-cigarettes this
week to prevent younger adults from smoking them.
Commentary 1
This article focuses on France's latest attempt to reduce the number of smokers within the
country. Through measures such as setting the minimum price and banning smoking in public
spaces the government aims to address the market failure associated with negative externalities
arising from tobacco consumption, which is a demerit good. The focus is on the key concept
chosen - intervention, where the government takes measures to correct inefficiencies in the
market. By examining how these interventions seek to incorporate the social costs of smoking
while promoting public health, this commentary aims to assess the effectiveness of these
interventions in achieving societal well-being.
Cigarettes are classified as a demerit good because they damage the smoker's health while also
affecting a third party, producing the negative externality of damage by second-hand smoke. The
market for cigarettes representing the negative externality of consumption of cigarettes is
illustrated in Figure 1 below.
