Posted on 07/02/2025 5:21:54 AM PDT by DoodleBob
France's new law dictates that tobacco must disappear where there are children, and parents, as well as the majority of the country, agree. Those who choose to smoke in public in areas like the beach or the park could face a fine. The ban also applies to bus shelters, areas near libraries, swimming pools and schools.
Violators could face a fine of 135 euros ($160) up to a maximum of 700 euros ($826), according to French news agency AFP. However, the health ministry is expecting an initial grace period as the new rules go into effect this week.
For decades, lighting up a cigarette was less a vice than a vibe — part of the cultural mise-en-scène. More than 200 people in France die each day of tobacco-related illness, Health Minister Catherine Vautrin said in a statement Saturday. That adds up to 75,000 people dying from smoking each year, and the French government wanted the chapter to fade to black.
The ban aims "to promote what we call denormalization. In people's minds, smoking is normal," Philippe Bergerot, president of the French League Against Cancer, told the Associated Press. "We aren't banning smoking; we are banning smoking in certain places where it could potentially affect people's health and ... young people."
It has been illegal to smoke in restaurants, bars and public buildings since a series of bans in 2007 and 2008. Ever-higher taxes mean a pack now costs upwards of 12 euros ($14).
Yet more than 30% of French adults still smoke cigarettes, most of them daily, one of the higher rates in Europe and globally. The Health Ministry is particularly concerned that tobacco remains popular among young people, citing public health statistics showing that 15% of 17-year-olds smoke. Black market cigarette trading is common
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Cars can only be torched in designated areas.
Except in Muslim controlled areas
Imagine being French and not being able to smoke. I guess there’s always fentanyl to take away the edge.
Not to mention, from the smell, their cigarettes seem to contain some high percentage of dried cow dung.
Agreed. Next France will require women to shave their armpits, unless the Muslims intervene.
It is amazing how easily totalitarianism is accepted.
The health ministry may need to specify whether these smoking bans will include marijuana and hash hush, medically prescribed or otherwise. Will vaping and Z-Patches be included, if not, why? Waterpipes too? What is a Sultan to do?
Yes, it is.
I don't smoke, but the government should not prohibit smoking in restaurants, for example. The owner of the restaurant should decide.
Which is probably most of France now days anyway.
my dad is rolling in his grave.
France’s new law dictates that tobacco must disappear where there are children, and parents.
Weed and THC laced candy not so much.
Part of the ambiance of France was the smell of Gitains in dark little cafes.p
Nope. Secondhand smoke is just as harmful as smoking yourself, so no it shouldn’t be allowed in public places. If people want to be stupid and smoke, fine, but they don’t get to force it on everyone else.
Guess what else is an externality? Air pollution, specifically exhaust from motor vehicles. The whole environmental movement rests on "the need for government to regulate industry to make the air clean." You can draw a straight line from the “ban smoking” movement to Greta Thunberg.
The whole concept of negative externalities, which worked so swimmingly in the anti-smoking crusade, got weaponized in Covid. When the shots that were granted EUAs rolled out, many people refused to take them. We then saw the pro-shot talking heads brandish anti-smoking arguments - remember "The bottom line: We’re going to protect vaccinated workers from unvaccinated co-workers." Regarding masks, we got Mandatory masking? What smoking bans can teach us
Despite well-documented health consequences of indoor smoking, efforts to ban the behavior were met with intense political resistance and an all-too-familiar civil liberties debate, just as we see today. But science, combined with social and political initiatives that were responsive to public concerns, eventually spurred a large-scale shift in public opinion around smoking bans. From this experience, three lessons can inform how to improve adherence to universal masking -- a life-saving public health measure: 1. Frame masking as a workers' rights issue, 2. Mandates are necessary because they work, and 3. Don't lose sight of the last mile.
I don’t smoke, and I also don’t like smelling like a chimney (or nowadays, like a pot dispensary) after a night at a club or restaurant. But liberty isn’t always clean and antiseptic; second-hand smoke is a cost of freedom.
The anti-smoking campaign that gave the government an inroad into whittling away rights under the guise of public health, has continue unabated.
Point of information -- Islam requires shaving armpits (and more) for both sexes. Seriously. What a religion!
https://islamqa.org/hanafi/askimam/984/as-a-muslim-man-which-hairs-on-my-body-should-i-shave/
In my world, entry into a restaurant would be optional.
Lol... let’s see how we’ll the puzzles obey that law...
Gotta love the French. Only 40 years behind the times.
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