A rebound in smoke-free spaces

If the Evin law of 1991 and its implementing decree Bertrand of 1992 now govern the ban on smoking in enclosed places for collective use [1], an expansion of outdoor smoke-free areas is necessary to effectively limit exposure to smoking and the associated risks. The “Smoke-Free Space” label launched by the League Against Cancer “to detoxify French society”[2] is in the spotlight.

New places where smoking is prohibited

In 2019, the association "DNF-Pour un Monde ZeroTabac" revealed, through a survey carried out by OpinionWay, that 73% of French people were in favor of an increase in the smoking ban in places open to the public, such as around schools, terraces, bus shelters, beaches or stadiums.

To date, there are nearly 1,570 smoke-free areas in France, spread across 381 municipalities and 41 departments. Each year, new outdoor spaces are added to the "smoke-free area" program, thanks to municipal decrees. For example, since the first smoke-free beach in Nice in 2011, various French cities have followed suit, reaching the number of 60 beaches prohibiting tobacco consumption by 2020.

The city of Paris is no exception, despite its lack of a beach. Today, it boasts 52 smoke-free parks.

More innovative, the Fraispertuis-City amusement park[3], located in Jeanménil in the Vosges, became the first smoke-free amusement park in France this year. It is scheduled to reopen on July 11, 2020.

Smoke-free spaces to denormalize tobacco and combat passive smoking

Smoke-free spaces have a triple purpose:

• Protect non-smokers from exposure to tobacco smoke • Combat tobacco pollution and fire risks • Denormalize tobacco.

By increasing the number of smoke-free spaces, associations and municipalities are working to protect health and the environment. Promoting smoke-free spaces means taking action against the leading cause of preventable death and the leading cause of waste found on the ground, which is also extremely polluting.

More importantly, promoting smoke-free spaces is a continuation of the ban on tobacco advertising and the introduction of plain packaging. Banning tobacco in the public sphere reverses the current trend that gives smoking a positive social image it doesn't deserve. In statistics, several thousand French people die each year from pathologies caused by exposure to other people's tobacco (there are almost 1 million of them, worldwide).

"Smoke-free spaces" are also part of the goal of achieving a tobacco-free generation by 2032 by preventing young people from thinking that smoking is a harmless act.

©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] Public Health Code, Subsection 3: Prohibition of smoking in certain public places, www.legifrance.gouv.fr (accessed June 23, 2020). [2] League against cancer, Detoxifying public spaces: tobacco-free space, www.ligue-cancer.net (August 19, 2015 - consulted June 23, 2020). [3] MEHL Amandine, In Lorraine, the Fraispertuis-City amusement park becomes non-smoking, www.actu.fr (June 1, 2020 - consulted June 23, 2020). You may also be interested in these articles: DNF, Polson, Montana: New Non-Smoking Areas, Tobacco-Free Generation (May 28, 2020 - accessed June 23, 2020). DNF, Lewisville, an example from Texas, Tobacco-Free Generation (April 29, 2020 - accessed June 23, 2020). DNF, Cigarette butts: pure poison for plants, Tobacco-Free Generation (June 8, 2020 - accessed June 23, 2020). DNF - For a Zero Tobacco World | AMK