FLASH NEWS
France to ban outdoor smoking in most places
2025-05-30 07:05:22 / BOTA
France will ban smoking in all open spaces accessible to children, including beaches, parks and bus stations, the Minister of Health and Family Affairs announced on Thursday.
Known as a place where smokers lounge around smoking cigarettes on cafe terraces or strolling along cobblestone streets, France has increasingly tightened restrictions on the use of tobacco in public spaces in recent years.
The new ban, which will come into effect on July 1, will cover all spaces where children may be present, including "beaches, parks, public gardens, outside schools, bus stops and sports facilities," said Minister Catherine Vautrin.
"Tobacco must disappear where there are children," Vautrin said in an interview published by the regional daily Ouest-France on its website.
The freedom to smoke "stops where children's right to breathe clean air begins," she said.
The ban will also be extended to schools, to prevent students from smoking in front of them.
Violators face a fine of up to 135 euros ($154), Vautrin said.
However, the ban will not extend to France's iconic cafe terraces, the minister said.
Electronic cigarettes, which have experienced a huge boom in France in recent years, are also not covered.
France already bans smoking in public spaces such as workplaces, airports and train stations, as well as in playgrounds.
Anti-smoking groups had been fighting for a broader ban.
Around 35 percent of France's population are smokers – higher than the average for
Europe (25 percent) and the world (21 percent), according to the World Health Organization.
Around 75,000 people are estimated to die each year from smoking-related complications in France.
According to a recent poll, six out of 10 French people (62 percent) agree that smoking should be banned in public places.
The government's National Anti-Tobacco Program for the period 2023-2027 proposed a smoking ban similar to that announced by Vautrin, calling on France to "face the challenge of a smoke-free generation by 2032."
But anti-tobacco organizations had expressed concern that authorities were dragging their feet on implementing the measures.
More than 1,500 cities and towns had already imposed their own smoking bans in public spaces such as parks, beaches and ski slopes.
Vautrin said there were no plans to impose additional taxes on cigarettes "for the time being," citing the booming black market that emerged after existing taxes were put into effect in an effort to discourage smoking.
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