France to ban smoking in parks, beaches, and near schools

PARIS AP France has struggled to kick its smoking habit A new citizens wellbeing decree published Saturday aims to change that In the coming days smoking will be banned in all French parks and sports venues at beaches and bus stops in a perimeter around all schools and anywhere children could gather in inhabitants In a country where smoking has for generations been glamorized in cinema and intertwined with the national image cabinet crackdowns on tobacco use have met resistance In France we still have this mindset of saying this is a law that restricts freedom Philippe Bergerot president of the French League Against Cancer notified the Associated Press The ban aims to promote what we call denormalization In people s minds smoking is normal he reported We aren t banning smoking we are banning smoking in certain places where it could potentially affect people s strength and young people It s been illegal to smoke in restaurants bars and residents buildings since a series of bans in and Ever-higher taxes mean a pack now costs upwards of euros Yet more than of French adults still smoke cigarettes greater part of them daily one of the higher rates in Europe and globally The Healthcare Ministry is particularly concerned that tobacco remains popular among young people citing constituents vitality statistics showing that of -year-olds smoke Black realm cigarette trading is common More than people in France die each day of tobacco-related illness Wellness Minister Catherine Vautrin commented in a announcement Saturday That adds up to particular deaths per year In a Paris park as the ban loomed views were mixed Parisian Natacha Uzan welcomed the end of smoking in restaurants But she disclosed Now outside in parks I find it becoming a bit repressive The broader ban is a good thing for Anabelle Cermell mother of a -month-old boy I tell myself oh it s really not ideal for him but there s not much I can do about it or I would have to not take the bus not go to parks The regime explained last month that the new ban would take effect July The official decree introducing the ban was published Saturday and a soundness minister s report mentioned that a ruling body order specifying the perimeters set by the ban would be published in the coming days Electronic cigarettes are exempt from the new ban Other European countries have gone farther Britain and Sweden have tightened smoking regulations in society spaces Spain is extending its smoking ban to caf and restaurant terraces which are exempt from France s new ban Angela Charlton in Paris contributed Source