SHARE
COPY LINK

HEALTH

How bad habits are threatening the health of the French nation

A global healthcare study has given France's health system a good report, but warned that too many French people are still smoking and drinking too much.

How bad habits are threatening the health of the French nation
People in France have a long life expectancy, despite some bad habits. Photo: AFP

The OECD's Health at a Glance 2019 report ranks France highly for aspects such as the quality, availability and cost of healthcare, but warns about bad habits that threaten the nation's health.

Life expectancy for people in France remains high at 82.4, ninth in the list of developed countries and above the OECD average of 80.7 but behind Japan at 84.2.

The French healthcare system came out well both in general – for accessibility – and in some specific categories like survival rates after a stroke or heart attack, in which category came sixth.

In total French people pay for just two percent of their healthcare costs, while the state or health insurers pick up the rest.

READ ALSO How to get a carte vitale in France and why you need one

In terms of accessibility, the report found that 89 percent of the population had easy access to a doctor, while screening services such as the cervical caner screening programme for women were also praised.

France was also one of the countries that spent the highest amounts on healthcare – 11 percent of gross domestic product or €4,500 per person.

Within the healthcare system, the only black mark for France was its level of antibiotic use – 23 daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants, while the OECD average is 18. This figure is not improving, despite public health campaigns urging people to stop asking their doctors for antibiotic for minor ailments.

READ ALSO Why do the French love taking medicine so much?

Overall, the report found that 8.3 percent of the population are in poor health, slightly better than the OECD average of 8.5 percent.

However where France scored poorly was in the bad habits of its population.

The French drink an average of 11.7 litres of alcohol per year, significantly higher than the OECD average of 8.9 litres and the third worst out of the 45 countries.

Rates of alcoholism were also 30 percent higher than the OECD average.

Smoking rates were also high, with one in four French adults smoking, against an OECD average of 18 percent.

France has the highest rate of smoking in western Europe and only five countries – Hungary, Turkey, Russia, Greece and Indonesia – have more smokers.

READ ALSO The French and smoking – is France really Europe's chimney?

This stores up problems for the future as a population of smokers and heavy drinks ages, and the report warns that by 2030 France will have to devote 13 percent of its GDP to healthcare, which may not be affordable.

READ ALSO People in France live longer and healthier lives, study shows

 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

HEALTH

Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

Denmark's government has struck a deal with four other parties to raise the point in a pregnancy from which a foetus can be aborted from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, in the first big change to Danish abortion law in 50 years.

Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

The government struck the deal with the Socialist Left Party, the Red Green Alliance, the Social Liberal Party and the Alternative party, last week with the formal announcement made on Monday  

“In terms of health, there is no evidence for the current week limit, nor is there anything to suggest that there will be significantly more or later abortions by moving the week limit,” Sophie Løhde, Denmark’s Minister of the Interior and Health, said in a press release announcing the deal.

The move follows the recommendations of Denmark’s Ethics Council, which in September 2023 proposed raising the term limit, pointing out that Denmark had one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Western Europe. 

READ ALSO: 

Under the deal, the seven parties, together with the Liberal Alliance and the Conservatives, have also entered into an agreement to replace the five regional abortion bodies with a new national abortion board, which will be based in Aarhus. 

From July 1st, 2025, this new board will be able to grant permission for abortions after the 18th week of pregnancy if there are special considerations to take into account. 

The parties have also agreed to grant 15-17-year-olds the right to have an abortion without parental consent or permission from the abortion board.

Marie Bjerre, Denmark’s minister for Digitalization and Equality, said in the press release that this followed logically from the age of sexual consent, which is 15 years old in Denmark. 

“Choosing whether to have an abortion is a difficult situation, and I hope that young women would get the support of their parents. But if there is disagreement, it must ultimately be the young woman’s own decision whether she wants to be a mother,” she said. 

The bill will be tabled in parliament over the coming year with the changes then coming into force on June 1st, 2025.

The right to free abortion was introduced in Denmark in 1973. 

SHOW COMMENTS