Smoking also kills in cars, parks, beaches and public spaces. The majority of French people seem to think that cigarettes should be banned as soon as a child can be present in the environment.
Private cars, parks, beaches, around schools … cigarettes banned from public spaces
84% of those polled think it is desirable to protect people around schools and want these spaces to become non-smoking.
This opinion seems to be shared by a large majority of French people for parks and public gardens dedicated to children(83% favorable), in stadiums, under bus shelters and in queues outside (82%), on the terraces of cafes and restaurants (72%) as well as on the beaches (72%). In France, there are already tobacco-free labeled beaches, such as those in Nice, Pornichet, Menton, Cannes, Saint -Malo, Ouistreham and La Ciotat.
Likewise, the French want to protect children in private spaces. 95% of them think that we should ban cigarettes in cars in the presence of children.
Several countries have already legislated in this regard. South Africa, several states in the United States, Canada and Australia punish the consumption of cigarettes in cars with children or minors. The UK is to pass a similar law.
The car is an enclosed and particularly small space and therefore potentially more harmful than another for non-smokers exposed to cigarettes. A Scottish study has shown that smoking in cars exposes children to fine particle pollution three times higher than the standard set by the WHO.
Alarming figures
To highlight the harmful effects of passive smoking, the WHO publishes alarming figures: passive smoking is responsible for more than 600,000 deaths per year in the world, that is to say one in 100 deaths. And if we only take into account that of deaths caused by tobacco, passive smoking is responsible for one in 10 deaths. Exposure to second-hand smoke is responsible each year for 379,000 deaths from ischemic heart disease, 165,000 deaths caused by respiratory infections, 36,900 deaths linked to asthma cases and 21,400 lung cancer deaths.
