After having been declared undesirable closed café terraces, smokers who burn a cigarette on the beaches could be fined. The ban on smoking in public places could soon be extended to beaches but also to parks. The track was launched by the Minister of Health, a few days after the new increase in the price of the package of 20 cents. “Is it normal for mothers, fathers or nannies to smoke in a public park where children play?” asked Marisol Touraine. “I want cities to take this path through dialogue and create tobacco-free spaces, which could be parks, university halls, beaches, in front of schools.” The extension of the anti-smoking measure to new places would be intended to fight against passive smoking, to which more than 5,800 deaths are attributed each year in France.
Already four beaches without cigarette ends
Ban smoking at the beach, the debate has come back as a leitmotif in recent years. The idea has already gained ground since several cities have already taken the plunge. La Ciotat, Nice, Ouistreham, Cannes. Saint-Malo is about to do the same on its Plage de l’Eventail.
On the other hand, banning cigarette butts in parks, university halls or in front of schools would be an unprecedented measure. Would the French be in favor of these new tobacco-free public places? An Ifop poll carried out in 2011 affirmed that 75% of French people were already in favor of the ban on smoking on beaches.
