Don%26#39;t get excited....yet! The Minister of Health will introduce anti-smoking regulations for all public places tomorrow. It is unclear whether it will be in the form of a directive or whether it will be in the form of proposed legislation that the Assemblée will have to debate. The union representing hospitality workers has already announced their opposition and has said there will be %26quot;reprisals%26quot; if any action is taken. Here we go again......! I hope the Chirac/dV government has learned their lesson about a more effective way to go about social change.
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The most restrictive smoking ban in the USA was passed here a few months ago. I am not a smoker (reformed!) but the law was written extremely poorly. Here, even smoking on private property is not allowed! Its crazy, you go to downtown Seattle and you see people literally standing in the gutters smoking because they have to be a certain distance away from buildings. One city near Seattle even went so far as to purchase a portable %26quot;smoking%26quot; building for people to use on breaks - and have it situated in a parking lot near city hall!
Again, I%26#39;m not a smoker but these things can be taken TOO FAR.
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Let%26#39;s keep the conversation focused on smoking laws in France, not in the US! Otherwise, the dicussion will quickly spin out of control!
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Davis, CA has had similar legislation for several years. So far no problems--people have to smoke no closer than 20 feet from building entrances, and no outside seated smoking allowed. I love it.
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Aux Arms les Citoyens!!!!!!
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What sure they hoping to accomplish here??? Is their any possibility that Parisians would follow a law forbidding them to smoke in public places? Would more protests be anticipated on either of the above %26quot;porposals%26quot;???
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Allons enfants de la patrie,
Le jour de non-fumeur est arrivé!
Contre nous de la tyrannie
Les étendards des tabacs sont levés!
Entendez-vous dans les cafés,
Tousser ces féroces fumeurs?
Ils viennent jusque dans nos bras
Piquer nos yeux, nos sinus!
Aux armes, citoyens!
Formez vos bataillons!
Fumons pas! Fumons pas!
Qu%26#39;un haleine impur
Ne remplir nos restos!
OK, OK, so I%26#39;m not much of a poet!
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt; no outside seated smoking allowed %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
You can%26#39;t be serious? I%26#39;m also a reformed smoker, and even if I weren%26#39;t I%26#39;d support making all buildings other than private homes smoke free - but telling peole they can%26#39;t sit down while they smoke??? What if I were to LIE down???
As for the French refusing to obey any anti-smoking law, I happened to be in Rome when the Italian anti-smoking law went into effect. It was amazing how immediate and complete compliance was, even though it was January and a very cold one for Rome. Italians are IMO no more keen on obeying laws they regard as infringing on their freedom than the French are.
The same 100% compliance appears to be happening in Ireland. Could have to do with the fact that anyone smoking in a bar or restaurant can be fined up to 1500€ while the pub or restaurant can be fined up to 3000€. (Nope, those are not typos!)
Meanwhile I understand consumption of cigarettes fell by almost 10% in Ireland in the first year of the ban. A good thing, no?
Let%26#39;s hope, as Truffaut says, that the French government handles this one better than it did the CPE - or we might find all the cafes/restaurants locked and shuttered on our next visit.
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt; OK, OK, so I%26#39;m not much of a poet! %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
Au contraire, Truffaut. Chapeau!
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Truffaut -
Firstly - thank you so much for your generosity of spirit in answering so many questions, so many times.
Secondly - Do I not remember a law passed several years ago that forbad smoking in cafes and/or restaurants? I seem to remember signs on the doors of cafes announcing that they were %26quot;Salons de fumer%26quot;.
The food service folks were going nuts because they said non smokers didn%26#39;t tip as well as smokers, and that they would order one drink and occupy a table forever, tearing paper napkins or bottle lables into tiny pieces that took forever to clean up (mostly because they would stick to the table surface).
I was amused because when I worked as a waitress lo these many years ago, we said the same things about non-smokers.
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The loi Evin, passed in 1991, stipulated that public places have to provide a non-smoking environment. The law is full of complex regulations such as the suction power of the ventilation system expressed as a ratio to the volume of the premises--things that are completely unenforceable. The loopholes are numerous--%26quot;separate%26quot; fumeur and non-fumeur areas can be %26quot;separated%26quot; by a row of potted plants. There is great non-smoking momentum building in Europe, and if this law/decree sticks it will likely be successful as is has in the other countries (see Irish%26#39;s comments).
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