France on Sunday banned smoking in parks and on beaches, part of efforts to protect the public from passive smoke and create the country’s first non-smoking generation.<\/p>\n
The ban, published in the official government gazette on Saturday, also applies to bus shelters and areas near libraries, swimming pools and schools.<\/p>\n
It was introduced one week before the start of school holidays, aiming to shield children from smoke on beaches.<\/p>\n
The rules do not apply to bar and restaurant terraces, where smoking remains permitted.<\/p>\n
They also do not apply to electronic cigarettes.<\/p>\n
On a beach packed with sunbathers and sloping into the crashing Atlantic surf in southwestern France, opinions on the new rules were mixed as smokers puffed away without apparent fear of reprimand.<\/p>\n
“Frankly, I think it’s ridiculous. We bring our own ashtrays and we’re no longer allowed to smoke in parks, on beaches and so on,” said Damien Dupois, a smoker.<\/p>\n
But Romain Boonaert, a non-smoker enjoying the beach in La Porge outside Bordeaux, welcomed the move.<\/p>\n
“There’s plenty of space, but it’s never pleasant when you get a little smoke on you. And then some people smoke other things too, so at least it takes away all the trouble.”<\/p>\n
– ‘Tobacco-free generation’ –<\/p>\n
According to the new rules, people should also not smoke within a 10 metres radius of schools, swimming pools, libraries and other places that hurt minors.<\/p>\n
The health ministry said it would announce the minimum distance for smoking in these areas in the coming days.<\/p>\n
Those who violate the ban could face a fine of 135 euros ($160) up to a maximum of 700 euros.<\/p>\n
The health ministry is expecting an initial grace period as the new rules are introduced.<\/p>\n
“Tobacco must disappear from places where there are children. A park, a beach, a school — these are places to play, learn, and breathe. Not for smoking,” Health and Family Minister Catherine Vautrin said.<\/p>\n
She said the ban was part of France’s push for a “tobacco-free generation” by 2032.
\n– ‘It must be clear’ –<\/p>\n
The ban “is a step in the right direction, but remains insufficient,” said Yves Martinet, president of the National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT), criticising the continued permission to smoke on cafe terraces.<\/p>\n
“The minister points to the protection of children,” but children “also go to the terraces,” Martinet, a pulmonologist, said.<\/p>\n
He lamented the absence of e-cigarettes from the text, saying flavours are used to “hook young people”.<\/p>\n
“For a measure to be effective, it must be clear — no consumption of products containing tobacco or nicotine in public,” Martinet said.<\/p>\n
But Frank Delvau, president of the Union of Hotel Trades and Industries (UMIH) for the Paris region, said a ban on smoking on cafe terraces “would only shift the problem because people on terraces would go smoke next to these establishments”.<\/p>\n
“Smokers and non-smokers can coexist” on terraces, the “last places of conviviality and freedom,” said Franck Trouet, of hospitality association Hotels and Restaurants of France (GHR).<\/p>\n
Passive smoking causes between 3,000 and 5,000 deaths annually in France, according to official estimates.<\/p>\n
Smoking is steadily declining in France with “the lowest prevalence ever recorded since 2000”, according to the French addiction agency OFDT.<\/p>\n
Less than a quarter of adults aged 18 to 75 smoked daily in 2023. Smoking causes 75,000 deaths a year and costs society 156 billion euros annually, the agency said.<\/p>\n
A recent survey found 62 percent of French respondents support a smoking ban in public spaces.<\/p>\n
ch-ref-alu-tb-mer-sjw\/srg\/gv<\/p>\n
\u00a9 Agence France-Presse<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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