France expands smoking ban to beaches, parks, schools

France will snub out smoking in most outdoor spaces where children are present on July 1, expanding the country’s decade old anti-tobacco campaign.

Health and Family Minister Catherine Vautrin said the measure covers beaches, parks, public gardens, sports grounds, bus stops, and the area outside schools. 

“The freedom to smoke ends where children’s right to breathe clean air begins,” Vautrin told Ouest-France.

Smokers caught lighting up in the newly restricted zones face a €135 ($212 CDN) ticket. 

Regular police will issue the fines, although the government hopes that social pressure will force people to stop and minimize the use of police time.

Cafe and bar terraces remain exempt, and the rules do not yet apply to e-cigarettes. 

Vautrin said the government is studying separate limits on nicotine strength for vapes.

The nationwide ban follows years of little action. 

More than 1,500 towns and hundreds of beaches had already declared themselves smoke-free. 

Smoking indoors at restaurants, nightclubs, and offices has been illegal since 2008.

The public firmly backs the new outdoor smoking ban.

A recent survey for France’s National Committee Against Smoking found nearly 80% of respondents support outdoor smoking bans.

Officials hope tougher rules will cut tobacco-related disease. 

Smoking kills more than 75,000 people each year, about 13% of all deaths in France, according to the health ministry. 

Daily smoking has dropped to 23.1% of adults, the lowest level on record but still high compared to other European countries.

The expanded ban is part of French President Emmanuel Macron’s pledge to create France’s “first tobacco-free generation” by 2032. 

With the peak summer holiday season weeks away, tourists and locals alike will need to snub out before stepping onto French sand or into city parks or pay the price for ignoring the new rules.