France bans smoking in nearly all outdoor public spaces – National

Puff, puff… past?

In a decision to protect its youngest citizens, France announced that it would promulgate a national ban smoking In all outdoor places that can be frequented by children, which means that your dreams of lounging in a French park with a cigarette are about to go up in smoke.

“Where there are children, Tobacco must disappear“The French Minister of Health and Family said Catherine Vautrin said on Thursday, adding to Ouest-France, adding that the freedom of smoking” ends where the right of children to breathe fresh “.

The ban, which will come into force on July 1, extends to parks, bus stops and areas near schools, the French Ministry of Health said on Friday, as part of “denormating tobacco and limiting its attractiveness”.

People surprised in violation of the ban will face fines of up to 135 euros ($ 210 CA).

And although France is often considered a country where smoking is fashionable – it is not difficult to imagine people who light up on a Parisian terrace or a paved street – the country has promulgated growing restrictions on tobacco consumption in recent years.

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Smoking prohibitions in places such as playgrounds, airports, stations, nightclubs, restaurants and workplaces are already in force. In addition, hundreds of beaches across France have been non-smokers for several years.

That said, the emblematic coffee terraces of France are exempt from the new ban, just like electronic cigarettes.

Currently, no decision has been made to ban sales of cigarettes to young people under the age of 18, said Vautrin, but the country “does not exclude anything for the future”.

Asked about an increase in tobacco tax, she said it was not on the table right now.

According to the French surveillance center for drugs and drug addiction23% of the French population smokes daily.

The French national committee against smoking indicates that more than 75,000 smokers die each year from tobacco -related diseases – 13% of all deaths.

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