THE FIGHT AGAINST SMOKING

The smoking ban: France

France, from 1 February 2007, tightened the existing ban on smoking in public places found in the 1991 Évin law:

Smoking is now banned in all public places (stations, museums, etc.); an exception exists for special smoking rooms fulfilling drastic conditions, see below. However, a special exemption is made for cafés and restaurants, clubs, casinos, bars, etc. until January 1, 2008. Opinion polls suggest 70% of people support the ban. Previously, under the former implementation rules of the 1991 Évin law, restaurants, cafés etc. just had to provide smoking and non-smoking sections, which in practice were often not well separated.

Under the new regulations, smoking rooms are allowed, but are subjected to very strict conditions: they may occupy at most 20% of the total floor space of the establishment and their size may not be more than 35 m²; they need to be equipped with separate ventilation which replaces the full volume of air ten times per hour; the air pressure of the smoking room must constantly be lower than the pressure in the contiguous rooms; they have doors that close automatically; no service can be provided in the smoking rooms; cleaning and maintenance personnel may enter the room only one hour after it was last used for smoking.

A judicial recourse against the new regulations was filed before the Conseil d'État, but was rejected.

the burden:

Up to 65,000 people a year die of smoking-related diseases

latest on the ban:

As of January 2008 the ban of smoking now includes cafes, restaurants and nightclubs.

The cost of cigarettes in france:

Packet of cigarettes is now 5,30 Euros or £3.70 (as of August 2007).

anti smoking campaign video