The veto of cigarettes in public spaces aims to protect children by preventing them from inhaling passively. Those who are missing from the rule can be fined up to 700 euros. The new rules that prohibit smoking on beaches, parks, bus stops and within ten meters from libraries, swimming pools and schools have in force (29/04) in France.
The measure aims to protect children from the risks of passively inhaing toxic smoke – something that kills between 3,000 and 5,000 people a year in the country, according to official statistics.
The ban will not affect external areas of bars and restaurants. Not even electronic cigarettes have been reached by the new rules.
The offenders are subject to a fine between 135 and 700 euros, but there will be an initial period of tolerance.
“Tobacco must disappear from the places where there are children. A park, a beach, a school – these are places to play, learn and breathe, not smoke,” said Catherin Vautrin, health and family minister.
According to Vautrin, the rules are another step towards a “free tobacco generation”, the goal of France for 2032.
The rules are supported by the French: a recent survey stresses that 62% of the population supports the ban on smoking in public spaces.
The smokers are rich in France, but is falling
More than 30% of French adults still smokes cigarettes, which makes the country one of the most friendly in Europe and in the world for smoking, although smoke within restaurants, bars and public buildings has been banned for over a decade.
Particularly worrying for the health authorities is the fact that 15% of 17 years are already smoking.
But according to the French agency to combat dependence, the habit has been down to the country and has reached its lower level since 2000.
Every day, more than 200 people die in France for diseases related to the consumption of tobacco, according to Minister Vautrin. Per year, there are 75,000 victims.
The relatively high rate of smokers remains although cigarettes are a relatively expensive good consumption: a package does not come out for less than 12 euros due to the high tax burden imposed.
Source: Terra
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