PARIS:
France will ban smoking in all outdoor places that can be approached by children, including beaches, parks and bus stops, the Minister of Health and Family said on Thursday.
Famous as a country where smokers remain above cigarettes in cafes or walking under the cobbled streets, France has increasingly strict restrictions on the use of tobacco in recent years.
The new ban, which will come into force on 1 July, will cover all places where children could be present, including “beaches, parks, public gardens, outside schools, bus stops and sports sites,” Minister Catherine Vautrin said.
“Tobacco must disappear where there are children,” Vautrin said in an interview published by the oust-France Daily regional on his website.
Freedom to smoke “stops where the right of children to breathe fresh air begins,” he said.
The ban will also extend to schools to stop students from smoking in front of them. Violators face a fine of up to 135 euros ($ 154), Vautrin said.
The ban will not extend to France’s virtual terraces, but the minister said. Electronic cigarettes, which have been developed in France in recent years, are also not covered.
France is already prohibiting smoking in public places, such as workplaces, airports and railway stations, as well as playgrounds. The anti -smoking teams fought for a wider ban.
It is estimated that 35 %of France’s population are smokers – higher than averages for Europe (25 %) and the world (21 %), according to the World Health Organization.
About 75,000 people are estimated to die of complications related to tobacco each year in France.
According to a recent opinion study, six of the 10 French people (62 %) favor the ban on smoking in public places.
Vautrin said there were no plans for additional taxes on “at the moment” cigarettes, citing the thriving black market that emerged after the import of existing taxes in an effort to discourage smoking. AFP
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