Assurance-maladie presents savings proposals: tobacco ban for those born after 2009, mandatory Nutri-Score and helmet mandate

Paris – 02.07.2026: The French statutory health insurance (Assurance-maladie, CNAM) has published its annual report “Charges et produits” and outlined around 40 measures intended to relieve the social insurance funds by about four billion euros by 2027. The catalogue bundles prevention, steering and organizational proposals and is explicitly aimed at the government and parliament as a basis for the upcoming budget and social law consultations.

A central signal is the push for a so-called “génération sans tabac”: in future the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products should be prohibited for people born after 2009. The CNAM argues with the continuously falling smoking rate, lower downstream costs in care and points to international examples of age-staggered bans. The measure would require a legal basis and would affect trade, enforcement and the sanctions framework equally.

The CNAM places a second focus on nutrition. It recommends making the Nutri-Score mandatory on packaged foods and additionally informing consumers about the degree of ultra-processing. In the fund’s reading, clearer labeling could influence purchasing behavior, reduce diet-related diseases and thereby dampen the expenditures of statutory health insurance. Implementation would require uniform specifications, controls along the supply chain and alignment with European labeling rules.

The report also looks at road safety. It proposes expanding the helmet requirement for cyclists as well as for certain users of small electric vehicles. This is justified by the high number of avoidable head injuries and the associated treatment costs. In parallel, the CNAM names levers in the world of work: targeted incentives to reduce absenteeism, better prevention of musculoskeletal disorders and stricter management of long-term illnesses are intended to stabilize expenses without restricting access to care.

The proposals are mostly of a recommendatory nature. Several points require legal changes or regulations and would have to be coordinated across departments with health, labor, transport and consumer protection ministries. Politically, resistance from trade associations, businesses and parts of the opposition is to be expected, for example regarding interventions in consumer freedom, commercial practices and duties in road traffic. The government could include individual elements in the autumn consultations on the social budget (PLFSS) for 2027; concrete drafts are not yet available.

Financially, the CNAM points to bundled effects: prevention, better care management and more efficient organization are intended to flatten the spending curve in the long term. In the short term, however, information campaigns, inspections and digital adjustments would be necessary. Whether the targeted saving effect of around four billion euros will materialize depends on the measures’ scope, timetable and the political ability to secure a majority for them.