Overview
- The ban, effective July 1, will prohibit smoking at beaches, parks, areas near schools, sports facilities and bus stops.
- Violations of the new regulations will incur fines of up to €135 enforced by local municipal police.
- E-cigarettes are exempt for now, although Paris plans to limit nicotine content and reduce permitted flavor varieties.
- The measure is part of a wider French campaign against tobacco, which is linked to an estimated 75,000 deaths annually.
- German lawmakers from the SPD and Greens are debating comparable outdoor smoking restrictions while tobacco industry groups decry the policy as excessive.