Addressing France's nuclear legacy
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Japan Times
5 days ago
- Japan Times
France imposes smoking ban on beaches and parks
Anyone who lights up on a beach or in a public park in France will be breaking the law from Sunday under new rules aimed at protecting children from the dangers of passive smoking. Bus shelters and areas in the immediate vicinity of libraries, swimming pools and schools will also be affected by the ban, which is coming into force one day after its publication in the official government gazette on Saturday. The rule is being imposed one week before the beginning of the school holidays in France in a clear bid to immediately protect children from smoke on the beach. However, to the disappointment of some anti-tobacco activists, the ban does not cover the terraces of bars and restaurants where many French still happily light up. They are also unhappy that the ban does not apply to electronic cigarettes. The rules had initially been expected to come into force on Tuesday after a previous announcement by the health ministry but the publication in the official gazette means this has now been brought forward to Sunday. People should also not smoke within a 10-meter radius of schools, swimming pools, libraries and other places where doing so could harm minors. The health ministry said it would announce the minimum distance for smoking in these areas in the coming days as well as reveal the sign used to designate such areas. Violators of the ban could face a fine of €135 ($160) up to a maximum of €700. However the health ministry is expecting an initial grace period as the new rules are explained. "Tobacco must disappear from places where there are children. A park, a beach, a school — these are places to play, learn, and breathe. Not for smoking," Health and Family Minister Catherine Vautrin said. This is another step "towards a tobacco-free generation," she added, which France is targeting from 2032. The ban "is a step in the right direction, but remains insufficient," said Yves Martinet, president of the National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT), criticizing the continued permission to smoke on cafe terraces. "The minister points to the protection of children," but children "also go to the terraces," Martinet, a pulmonologist, said. He lamented the absence of e-cigarettes from the text, saying flavors are used to "hook young people." "For a measure to be effective, it must be clear — no consumption of products containing tobacco or nicotine in public," Martinet said. But Frank Delvau, president of the Union of Hotel Trades and Industries (UMIH) for the Paris region, said a ban on smoking on cafe terraces "would only shift the problem because people on terraces would go smoke next to these establishments." "Smokers and non-smokers can coexist" on terraces, the "last places of conviviality and freedom," said Franck Trouet, of hospitality association Hotels and Restaurants of France (GHR). In France, passive exposure to tobacco smoke causes 3,000 to 5,000 deaths per year, according to official figures. Smoking is steadily declining in France with "the lowest prevalence ever recorded since 2000," according to France addiction agency the OFDT. Less than a quarter of adults aged 18 to 75 reported smoking daily in 2023, according to the agency. Smoking causes 75,000 deaths per year in France and, again according to the OFDT, costs society €156 billion annually, counting factors including lost lives, quality of life, productivity, prevention, law enforcement and health care. According to a recent opinion survey, 62% of French people favour a smoking ban in public places.
NHK
26-06-2025
- NHK
Addressing France's nuclear legacy
Over three decades, France conducted 193 nuclear tests in French Polynesia, leaving the islanders to live with the legacy. We meet one man who is still suffering from the lingering effects of radiation exposure.
Japan Today
29-05-2025
- Japan Today
France to ban smoking outdoors in most places
From July 1, France plans to ban smoking on beaches, in parks and other places where children might be By Laurent BARTHELEMY France will ban smoking in all outdoor places that can be accessed by children, including beaches, parks and bus stops, the health and family minister announced Thursday. Famed as a country where smokers linger over cigarettes on cafe terraces or strolling down cobblestone streets, France has increasingly tightened restrictions on tobacco use in public spaces in recent years. The new ban, which will enter into force on July 1, will cover all spaces where children could be present, including "beaches, parks, public gardens, outside of schools, bus stops and sports venues", said the minister Catherine Vautrin. "Tobacco must disappear where there are children," Vautrin said in an interview published by the regional Ouest-France daily on its website. The freedom to smoke "stops where children's right to breathe clean air starts," she said. The ban will also extend to schools, to stop students smoking in front of them. Offenders face a fine of up to 135 euros ($154), Vautrin said. The ban will not extend to France's iconic cafe terraces however, the minister said. Electronic cigarettes, which have boomed in France in recent years, are also not covered. France already forbids smoking in public spaces such as workplaces, airports and train stations, as well as playgrounds. Anti-smoking groups had been fighting for a broader ban. An estimated 35 percent of France's population are smokers -- higher than the averages for Europe (25 percent) and the world (21 percent), according to the World Health Organization. Around 75,000 people are estimated to die from tobacco-related complications each year in France. According to a recent opinion survey, six out of 10 French people (62%) favor banning smoking in public places. The government's National Anti-Tobacco Program for 2023 to 2027 proposed a smoking ban similar to the one announced by Vautrin, calling France to "rise to the challenge of a tobacco-free generation from 2032". But anti-tobacco organizations had voiced concern the authorities were dragging their feet on implementing the measures. More than 1,500 cities and villages had already imposed their own bans on smoking in public spaces such as parks, beaches and ski slopes. Vautrin said there were no plans to place additional taxes on cigarettes "at the moment", citing the thriving black market that emerged after existing taxes were introduced in a bid to discourage smoking. © 2025 AFP
