French President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled a 10-year strategy to fight cancer which includes a tough view on tobacco and alcohol products, reports Reuters.

Cancer is the leading cause of death in France and President Macron has said that he intends to step up the fight against the illness. He told the French Cancer National Institute that the government would support scientific research by dedicating EUR 1.7 billion (USD 2 billion) to the cause over the next five years which is 20 per cent more than during the period from 2016 to 2021, reports Reuters.
Macron also revealed he would be focusing on avoidable causes of cancer such as cigarettes and alcohol stating he wants the generation turning 20 in 2030 to be the first tobacco-free generation. According to Reuters, Macron stressed that cigarette prices would continue to increase and that there would be even more smoking-free areas.
“This strategy is ambitious in view of the goals it pursues: to bring down, in 10 years, new avoidable cancers from 150,000 a year to less than 100,000 and to reduce the mortality of the seven most lethal cancers”, Macron said in a video speech to the institute.