France plans to ban people to smoke on beaches, parks and close to schools from July to protect children, the government said.
The ban, which follows similar measures adopted in an increasingly averse Europe to the cigarette, will exempt the balconies of bars and restaurants outdoors and will not apply to electronic cigarettes.
“Where there are children, tobacco should disappear,” said Catherine Vautrin’s health and family minister, in an interview with the Ouest France newspaper on Thursday night.
“From July 1, beaches, parks and public gardens, school areas, bus stops and sports facilities will be free of smoke throughout France. Therefore, smoking will be prohibited in these places to protect our children.”
Vautrin said the cigarette kills on average about 200 people a day in France.
Smoking in France is at historically low levels, according to a report published this month by the French Drug and Toxicomaniah Observatory.
The report found that just under a quarter of people aged 18 to 75 smoked daily, the lowest number since the observatory began to maintain records in the late 1990s.
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The United Kingdom announced a prohibition similar to cigarette last year. Some Spanish regions forbade smoking on the beaches, while Sweden prohibited smoke on outdoor restaurant terraces, bus stops, train platforms and school courtyards since 2019.
