A recent study on smoking in Luxembourg found that 31% of people in the country smoke regularly or occasionally. Among those aged 16 to 24, the figure rises to 41%.
According to Margot Heirendt, director of the Cancer Foundation, the number of smokers is not necessarily falling. She said the foundation is particularly concerned about new nicotine products, which appear to appeal to young people and could act as an additional gateway to cigarettes.
These products often contain high doses of nicotine, meaning users can develop an addiction much more quickly. Heirendt explained that this can lead people to consume them more often until they eventually become dependent.
She also warned that there are still not enough studies on their wider health effects, including the potential impact of vapes on the lungs. Among young people, she added, high nicotine levels can also cause serious problems for the brain.
As part of the global strategy for a tobacco-free generation, the Cancer Foundation supports six key measures. These include gradually increasing the price of tobacco and similar products each year, raising awareness among young people to discourage tobacco use, banning all forms of advertising, reducing the availability of tobacco products, better protecting passive smokers, and providing structured support for people trying to quit.
For secondary schools, for instance, there is a so-called "tobacco kit". Its contents are designed to make it easier to discuss tobacco use in schools in an informative and preventive way.
The global strategy also includes the 'Tobacco-Free Municipalities' project, which aims to reduce passive smoking at local level, for example by organising tobacco-free events. A total of 21 municipalities are now involved in the project.
Around half of smokers in Luxembourg would like to quit. Free consultations are offered by the Cancer Foundation, but stopping smoking is generally not easy in Luxembourg, according to Lex Schaul, public health professional at the foundation.
Schaul explained that most people currently try to quit on their own. However, studies show that smokers have a much greater chance of succeeding if they receive professional support and proper guidance, he said.
Schaul added that Luxembourg has few institutions offering this type of help and, unlike other countries, lacks a real structure for smoking cessation support.
At the same time, tobacco prices in Luxembourg remain low compared with other countries. People travel from abroad to buy cigarettes here because prices have risen elsewhere.
Heirendt said Luxembourg has acquired a reputation abroad as Europe's "tobacco shop". She said this criticism was raised again last week at a European tobacco conference in Milan, where around 900 professionals gathered
According to Heirendt, colleagues from other countries accused Luxembourg of acting as Europe's tobacco shop and even of exporting cancer. She argued that greater pressure must be put on the government and that the issue must be addressed collectively at European level.
According to the Cancer Foundation, tobacco prices in Luxembourg are too low and urgently need to be increased. Heirendt said the government often argues that tobacco taxes are needed as a source of revenue, but pointed to countries such as France, where sharp price increases have also brought more tax revenue into state coffers.
In her view, revenue cannot therefore be used as an argument against higher tobacco prices, which she described as a potential win-win situation.
According to Luxembourg's National Health Observatory, tobacco consumption can be linked to 11% of deaths in the country.
