Last Updated:
A smoking ban will take effect from July 1 in all areas where children are present or exposed.
Smoking will be banned in all the places that is exposed to children (Representative image)
France is set to ban smoking in all outdoor places that can be frequented by children, like beaches, parks, and bus stops, said the health and family minister in an interview published on Thursday.
“Tobacco must disappear where there are children,” Catherine Vautrin said in an interview published by the regional Ouest-France daily on its website.
According to the health minister, the freedom to smoke “stops where children’s right to breathe clean air starts.”
The ban will be imposed starting July 1 and will include all places where children could be, such as “beaches, parks, public gardens, outside of schools, bus stops and sports venues,” she said.
Those who violate the rule can be slapped with a fine upto 35 euros ($154), she informed.
According to the health minister, cafe terraces will be excluded from smoking ban.
Also the ban will not include electronic cigarettes. It means that people will still be allowed to smoke in those places and use e-cigarettes, even after the ban is in effect.
- First Published:
