Credit: MSAN

On Tuesday 31 May 2022, on the occasion of "World No Tobacco Day", Luxembourg's Ministry of Health, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), issued an information and public awareness campaign of the harmful and deadly effects of active and passive smoking.

Tobacco is the leading cause of premature and preventable death in the world. According to the WHO, tobacco causes more than eight million deaths each year. More than seven million of them are users or former users, and about 1.2 million non-smokers involuntarily exposed to smoke. In Luxembourg, approximately 1,000 deaths per year are recorded as a result of tobacco-related diseases, of which 80 deaths are directly linked to passive smoking.

Number of smokers have been growing steadily for two years, as evidenced by the annual study of smoking prevalence in Luxembourg by TNS/ILRES, commissioned by the Cancer Foundation. The results for the year 2021 reveal that the number of smokers in Luxembourg has increased considerably over the past three years, mainly among young people between the ages of seventeen and 25. In fact, the study showed that more than one-quarter (28%) of Luxembourg residents over the age of sixteen smoked last year, i.e. about 147,500 people. This is the highest rate of smokers since 2004.

A communication campaign targeted at young people

TOBACCO, the most dangerous of social networks!

In view of this observation, the Ministry of Health, in the continuation of the work of the National Plan for the Fight against Tobacco (Plan national de lutte contre le tabac - PNLT), is launching its new communication campaign in order to raise awareness and protect young generations from the dangers of tobacco. The axis of communication chosen aims to resonate with young people in order to preserve their health and avoid addiction using messages that use the codes of social networks.

“With this campaign, we want to reaffirm our desire to make the fight against smoking a priority. By targeting our young people, we want to protect them and help them grow into a generation of tobacco-free adults,” explained Paulette Lenert, Minister of Health.

The consequences of smoking are dramatic on health and cause diseases such as the occurrence of certain cancers (cancer of the lung, upper aerodigestive tract, bladder, etc.) but also promotes certain cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. It also has significant impacts on pregnancy and quality of life.

Quitting smoking, a positive decision associated with many almost immediate benefits and at any age:

  • After 48 hours of stopping, the body is better oxygenated and respiratory function improves;
  • After one year of stopping, breathing has returned to normal and the risk of myocardial infarction is reduced by 50%;
  • After ten years of quitting, the risk of dying from lung cancer is halved compared to that of a smoker;
  • After 20 years, the risk has returned to that of a non-smoker.

In collaboration with the National Health Fund (Caisse nationale de santé - CNS), the Ministry of Health encourages smokers to quit thanks to the Smoking Cessation Assistance Programme. This programme, set up in 2008, offers support for smokers during their withdrawal from a health professional as well as partial reimbursement of drug treatments and substitute products that may be necessary.

A free telephone line 6002 6767, set up by the Department of Health, appears on all tobacco products and offers any smoker wishing to quit smoking the possibility of obtaining all the information necessary to permanently wean themselves off tobacco.