Does the electronic cigarette allow you to quit smoking? Can they be a support during this “month without tobacco” which began Tuesday, November 1
? Not really, says our guest this Wednesday, Olivier Jenny, head of the addiction service at the Alpes Isère hospital center in Saint-Egrève. He especially points out the danger of “puffs”, these disposable electronic cigarettes – already in the viewfinder of the Minister of Health on France Bleu
last week – and which is particularly aimed at young people.
France Bleu Isère: First, how useful is the “month without tobacco”? Does it really help quit smoking?
Olivier Jenny: It’s very effective because we know that there are a lot of people who ask themselves the question of quitting one day or another. And there, it’s really an opportunity to create the trigger collectively and therefore to encourage those who are still hesitating a little. And then, for everyone else, to feel like they can support those people.
After how long does the addiction to nicotine decrease? Is a month enough?
It depends of people. It is one of the hardest addictions, one of the hardest drugs that exists on Earth. So it’s difficult to quit smoking and often you don’t succeed the first time. If you do not try you will not succeed. You have to start one day. And then there are people who have made the journey on their own, and who discover that in the end, for them, it’s much easier than expected.
You are talking about people who walk the path alone. How important is the collective challenge of the “Month without tobacco” also?
The difficulty with addictions is that it’s both a personal process and a collective problem. So, obviously, everyone solves their difficulties gradually, we all have different obstacles to cross to solve our addiction. But the collective, the entourage, the family, the friends, the professional framework… everyone is involved in order to be able to help people to free themselves a little from this dependence.
We can see all the same that this month without tobacco has run out of steam a little in recent years. Over the past three years, the number of registrants has been declining. How do you explain it?
It is difficult to explain. We can clearly see that the coronavirus pandemic has an impact on life in society: in the hospital, we receive more solitary patients, more in difficulty than before. And perhaps this pandemic has indeed led to a generalized withdrawal or distrust of others, which means that collective support is less strong. But today, since the pandemic is diminishing, it is time to regain a notion of the collective, to feel the importance of this life in society to live better and to get out of addictions.
If you’re all alone, if you’re having trouble quitting smoking, who can you turn to for help?
So the devices are extremely well constructed. There are two Internet sites which can help: the site of the “month without tobacco” quite simply or the site of “Tobacco info service”. There is also a telephone number on 39 89, where you can find both general help and tools that everyone can use. And then, there can also be the meeting with a tobacco specialist or individualized coaching. So there are really a lot of things that are available to people who want to try a stop, who want to see what happens.
And then we finally have partner pharmacies. All health professionals are mobilized. So today, an isolated person who wants to get out of it, he has a lot of people on whom he can rely. And maybe she does not realize that some people around her would also be ready to support this effort, but who do not dare to offer their help.
In recent years, smokers have also turned to electronic cigarettes to quit conventional tobacco. We heard in the 7:30 news a report on “puffs”, these disposable electronic cigarettes. What do you think ? Could this be a step to quit smoking?
These are two quite different things. The electronic cigarette first, we see it appear even among our patients. Some stick, some don’t, it depends. On the other hand, the puffs, I find that it is really something much more dangerous, because it is the young people who are targeted.
Why put nicotine in stuff that has very pleasant flavored tastes or why put very pleasant taste for people who want to quit smoking? This is really, I think, a phenomenon that is emerging and very worrying for our young people.