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France’s 2024 Health Barometer Shows Gains on Smoking, Alarming Mental-Health and Climate Impacts

New survey results spotlight deep socioeconomic divides in health across France.

Overview

  • Santé publique France’s 2024 barometer, based on about 35,000 adults, finds 68% rate their health as good, dropping to roughly 50% among those in financial difficulty.
  • Daily smoking has fallen to about one in four adults, with officials crediting roughly 4 million fewer smokers over a decade, though prevalence reaches 30% in financially strained groups.
  • Mental health indicators remain severe: 16% experienced a major depressive episode and one in 20 had suicidal thoughts in 2024, with men with depression more often reporting no therapeutic care.
  • Four in five respondents say they faced an extreme climatic event and 40% report physical effects, underscoring climate hazards as a public-health concern.
  • Preventive understanding lags, with about 80% favorable to vaccination but notable Covid‑19 hesitancy, and two in five unaware of antibiotic resistance or that antibiotics do not treat flu.