France's new smoke ban: These outdoor places will be smoke -free from 1 July | Today news

France will banned smoking in all outdoor places that can be acquired by children, including beaches, parks and bus stops, the Minister of Health and Family announced Thursday. Known as a country where smokers over cigarettes sit on cafe terraces or walk in the streets of the paved streets, France has increasingly tightened over the past few years to tobacco use in public spaces. The new ban, which comes into effect on July 1, will cover all spaces where children can be present, including “beaches, parks, public gardens, outside schools, bus stops and sports rooms,” said Minister Catherine Vauutrin. “Tobacco has to disappear where there are children,” Vautrin said in an interview published daily by the local old age France on its website. The freedom to smoke “stops where the right of children to breathe in clean air,” she said. The ban will also extend to schools to smoke students before them. Offenders have a fine of up to 135 euros ($ 154), Vautrin said. – Cafe Terraces Escape Ban – However, the ban will not extend to France’s iconic cafe terraces, the minister said. Electronic cigarettes, which have flourished in France over the past year, are also not covered. France already bans smoking in public spaces such as workplaces, airports and train stations, as well as playgrounds. Anti-smoking groups fought for a broader ban. It is estimated that 35 percent of the population of France is smokers – higher than the averages for Europe (25 percent) and the world (21 percent), according to the World Health Organization. It is estimated that about 75,000 people will die from tobacco -related complications in France every year. According to a recent poll, six out of ten French people (62%) are in favor of smoking in public places. -‘Tabak-free generation ‘-the government’s national anti-tobacco program for 2023 to 2027 proposed a smoke ban, similar to those announced by Vautrin, and called France to’ present the challenge of a tobacco-free generation from 2032 ‘. But anti-tobacco organizations expressed concern that the authorities dragged their feet to implement the measures. More than 1,500 cities and towns have already imposed their own ban on smoking in public spaces such as parks, beaches and ski slopes. Vautrin said there are no plans to put extra tax on cigarettes at the moment, referring to the bleeding black market that arose after the existing taxes were set to discourage smoke.