France To Ban Smoking In Public Places

The French Government has announced plans to ban smoking on beaches, parks, outside schools, and other public locations starting from July to protect children.

The prohibition, which aligns with similar actions taken in Europe, which is becoming more opposed to smoking, will exempt outdoor cafe terraces and exclude electronic cigarettes.

“Where there are children, tobacco must disappear,” Health and Families Minister Catherine Vautrin said in an interview with the Ouest France newspaper on Thursday.

“From July 1, beaches, public parks and gardens, school areas, bus shelters, and sports facilities will be smoke-free throughout France. Smoking will therefore be prohibited there, to protect our children.”

Vautrin said smoking kills around 200 people every day in France.

Smoking in France is at historic low, according to a report published this month by the French Observatory for Drugs and Addictive Trends.

It discovered that just under a quarter of people aged 18-75 smoked daily, the lowest since it began keeping records in the late 1990s.

The United Kingdom announced a similar smoking ban last year.

Some Spanish regions have banned smoking on beaches, while Sweden has outlawed smoking in outdoor restaurant terraces, bus stops, train platforms and schoolyards since 2019.