France Takes Stricter Measures to Ban Smoking in Outdoor Public Areas

France’s Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau has announced a ban on smoking in various public spaces, including beaches, parks, forests, and areas near schools, as part of a plan to create a “tobacco-free generation by 2032” and reduce the annual toll of 75,000 tobacco-related deaths. The goal is to eliminate the leisure aspect of smoking and prevent 200 preventable tobacco-related deaths per day. Fines may be implemented as early as next year, and cigarette prices are set to increase to 12 euros, about $13, in 2025 and 13 euros, or $14, by 2027. Additionally, the government plans to ban disposable e-cigarettes and is expected to vote on a law banning them next month. France previously enacted smoking bans in bars, restaurants, cafes, workplaces, schools, airports, hospitals, and other covered public places.