The Lombardy government’s 2021 decree prohibiting cigarette consumption on public roads became valid on Wednesday (1st January); more than 1/5 of the Italian population is a smoker
Smoking on the streets of Milan, Italy, became prohibited from January 1, 2025. The decree was published in 2021, but only came into force on Wednesday (Jan. 1, 2025). The measure seeks to improve air quality in the city.
Milan becomes the first Italian city to ban tobacco consumption on public roads. There is an exception for electronic cigarettes or in places where a distance of 10 meters from other people can be respected.
O which provided for the new regulation was published in 2021 by the government of Lombardy, the Italian region of which Milan is the capital. The text established, already that year, the prohibition of smoking in public green areas (unless it was possible to respect a distance of 10 meters), in sports recreational areas or areas intended for children, at public transport stops (bus stops and taxis, for example), in dog parks or cemeteries.
Now, the city has officially banned smoking on any public street. The fine for those who violate the new law varies between €40 and €240 (R$257 and R$1,545, at the current rate).
Milan’s struggle to improve air quality is mainly due to the Winter Olympic Games, which will be held in the city in February 2026, in a partnership with the ski resort in the city of Cortina.
A (Radio France International) explained that Italy, a country in which more than 1/5 of the population is a smoker, has faced the fight against smoking since 1975, when it banned smoking on public transport.
In 1995, the ban was extended to public offices and, in 2005, to all closed public places.
Data from Istat (National Institute of Statistics) shows that 1 in 5 Italians smoke. The value is lower than the European Union average, which is 24%. THE RFI said that 93,000 Italians die as a result of smoking each year, according to data from the Italian Ministry of Health.
