#TobaccoFreeMe
Leading the fight against tobacco
There are 1.1 billion smokers in the world
Among these smokers...
60% say they want to quit
While this figure is encouraging, others are less so...
...11% of teens aged 13-15 are smokers
Tobacco, leading cause of preventable death
Tobacco kills more people than AIDS, all other drugs, car accidents, murders and suicides combined. Some countries are more affected than others: in fact, more than 80% of smokers live in low-income countries, where prevention and dissuasion policies are limited or nonexistent. In France, tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death, and costs more than 3% of GDP annually.
80%
of smokers live in low-income countries
Second-hand smoke is a real scourge
But not all of these smokers choose to use tobacco. Second-hand smoke is a real scourge. Spouses and partners of smokers, their children and even their pets, you are also affected by the cigarette smoke present in your home. And it is far from harmless: every year, 600,000 people die from second-hand smoke.
600,000
people die from second-hand smoke
Your pets are smokers too
They can also develop cancer. Liv is 27 and has smoked for 5 years… But she doesn’t realize that her cat Oscar also inhales her smoke. In fact, a smoker’s cat has double the risk of developing cancer than a nonsmoker’s cat.
Tobacco is also synonymous with litter: every year, people throw out nearly 4.5 trillion cigarette butts
Cigarette butts even litter our beaches
They represent the biggest source of plastic pollution on beaches, where they leak deadly toxins into the oceans. That means fish are also victims of this pollution, since a cigarette butt can contaminate up to 1,000 liters of water.
Cigarette butts are the leading source of litter on the ground
They take 2 years to decompose. They consist in a cocktail of chemical substances, including heavy metals (cadmium, lead, chrome, mercury), tar and nicotine. Not to mention the filter, which is often composed of non-biodegradable plastics.
It is time to stop smoking… and for good reason
Within 20 minutes of quitting smoking, blood pressure and heart rate return to a normal rhythm
24 hours after quitting smoking, the risk of heart attack is already greatly reduced
10 years after quitting smoking, life expectancy is identical to a nonsmoker...
Smoking is not a life sentence
Proof: 60% of smokers want to quit smoking and rid their lives of the most addictive substance in the world. Steve is one of these people. A smoker since his teen years, Steve decided to quit… but he’s having trouble. Asking for help like Steve can increase your chances of quitting successfully.
We can free ourselves from tobacco
It is not easy to quit smoking. Among the main causes of relapses are physical and psychological deprivation, weight gain, decreased motivation, a particular event or a harsh moment... Agathe, 30, is trying to quit smoking for the 4th time. In order to succeed this time, she meets various health professionals with her cousin Woinkpa, determined to help her find solutions to live a tobacco-free life.
You, too, can say no to tobacco
AXA became the first insurance company to divest from tobacco, in 2016. In 2018, AXA became a founding signatory of the UN’s Tobacco-Free Finance Pledge, which encourages investors in all countries to divest from the tobacco industry. Join the movement, and let’s work together to build a tobacco-free future! #TobaccoFreeMe