France is set to ban smoking in public places.
The ban will apply to areas including beaches, public parks, gardens, sports facilities, bus shelters, and around schools.
It will come into effect nationwide on 1 July.
The ban does not apply to vapes or outdoor cafes and bars.
Details
In an exclusive interview with French newspaper Ouest France, Health Minister Catherine Vautrin said: “Where there are children, tobacco must disappear”.
The BBC reports breaking the rules will result in a €135 ($AU238) fine.
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In 2023, 27% of French adults were smokers. For comparison, between 2022-2023, 8.3% of Australians aged 14 and above smoked daily.
Vautrin also plans to lower the nicotine level in vaping products and reduce the number of flavours available.
She added she isn’t ruling out a ban on smoking for people under 18, potentially following the UK, which has proposed making it illegal for those born after 2008 to ever buy cigarettes.
Australia
It comes as a national study by the Cancer Council revealed that fewer than 1 in 5 (18%) young adults regularly smoked and/or vaped from October to December 2024.
Cancer Council Tobacco Issues Chair Alecia Brooks said Australia has been “world-leading in tobacco control”.
It is currently illegal to buy a vape outside a pharmacy, and the Government plans to print health warnings on individual cigarettes.
