Smoking will be banned on beaches, in parks and near schools from July 1, the government announced.
The government will ban smoking in outdoor public places where children may be present, such as "beaches, parks and public gardens, around schools, bus shelters, sports facilities," announced the Minister of Labor, Health, Solidarity and Families, Catherine Vautrin, in an interview with the newspaper Ouest-France on Thursday, May 29.
"Where there are children, tobacco must disappear," declared the minister, specifying that the ban would come into force on July 1. Failure to comply with the ban "could result in a class 4 fine, or 135 euros," said Ms. Vautrin, who believes that the freedom to smoke "stops where the right of children to breathe clean air begins."
The minister added that the perimeter of the ban around schools will be specified in the implementing decree. "We are currently determining it with the Council of State, and we will trust elected officials to implement it pragmatically," continued Ms. Vautrin.
Cafe terraces and electronic cigarettes not affectedMiddle and high schools are also affected by the ban, in particular to prevent "middle and high school students from smoking in front of their establishments." However, the ban does not apply to cafe terraces or electronic cigarettes.
Asked by Ouest-France about a possible new tax increase on tobacco and cigarettes, Ms. Vautrin replied that no further increase was planned, "as I speak to you." "On this issue, I am cautious when I see the ravages of tobacco smuggling, and I want us to support the diversification of tobacconists' activities, because these local businesses are essential," she explained.
The Minister of Health, however, wants to achieve a "lower of the permitted nicotine level" in these products and a "reduction in the number of flavors." "I need scientific and technical advice to determine the details" of these measures, which are expected to come into force "by the end of the first half of 2026," she explains.
The generalisation of smoke-free spaces, as announced by Ms Vautrin, is one of the measures set out in the National Tobacco Control Programme (PNLT) 2023-2027, presented by the then Minister of Health, Aurélien Rousseau, with the ambition of "meeting the challenge of a generation free of tobacco by 2032" .
Anti-smoking organizations were concerned that concrete decisions from the government were not forthcoming. Eager to take action, 1,600 volunteer municipalities have already extended the ban on smoking in public places to parks, beaches, ski slopes, and school areas, making 7,000 smoke-free areas, in local experiments supported by the League Against Cancer. According to a survey published Monday by the League Against Cancer , six out of ten French people (62%) say they support a broader ban on smoking in public spaces.
Smoking causes the death of 75,000 people each year. And according to figures from the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Behaviors, it costs French society €156 billion per year (lost lives, quality of life, and productivity, public spending on prevention, repression, and care, etc.), with alcohol costing €102 billion.
The World with AFP
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