Smoking ban: Nice doctor wants measure to be "extended to restaurant terraces"

July 1st, . Good news for Dr. Cherikh, head of the addiction department at the Nice University Hospital, who would also like this ban to be accompanied by an educational message.

The ban on smoking in these public places. Is this a measure you were waiting for?

Of course, it was hoped for and it will reinforce all the prevention messages on tobacco use. The idea is to protect children , but also all non-smokers from passive smoking.

Does passive smoking kill?

Passive smoking, which is the involuntary inhalation of smoke released by one or more smokers, has an impact that tends to be underestimated, particularly among younger people and non-smokers. We don't have specific figures on this, but pulmonologists are encountering cases of lung disease in non-smokers. Pollution is a factor, as are endocrine disruptors, but so is passive smoking.

Should this ban be extended to the terraces of cafes and restaurants?

I hope this will be the case soon, as it is in Northern European countries. Cigarette smoke is toxic, even in an open space, because before evaporating it remains in the ambient air and can be uncomfortable. We can very well get used to no longer smoking on terraces as we did a few years ago in restaurant dining rooms . Today, it would shock everyone to do so...

Is this ban liberticidal?

We must be careful and respect everyone's freedom on this subject: we must be able to remain free to smoke or not to smoke. This is why we must accompany this measure with a lot of education; it is essential to explain why we are deciding on this measure. And we must appeal to the civic responsibility of smokers: they have the freedom to smoke in a place where they do not bother anyone , away from others, even if it is a public and open place.