France to ban smoking at beaches, parks and outside schools to protect children

Fri May 30 11:58:47 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary of the text, followed by a news article re-write:

**Summary:**

France will ban smoking in various public outdoor spaces starting July 1st, 2025, in an effort to protect children from secondhand smoke and reduce smoking-related deaths. The ban will include beaches, parks, school areas, and bus shelters. This move comes as smoking rates in France reach historic lows, and follows similar bans in other European countries. The ban will not include e-cigarettes or outdoor cafe terraces.

**News Article:**

**France to Implement Widespread Outdoor Smoking Ban to Protect Children**

**PARIS (May 30, 2025)** – France is set to implement a sweeping ban on smoking in public outdoor spaces beginning July 1, 2025. The measure, aimed at protecting children from secondhand smoke and further reducing smoking rates, will prohibit smoking on beaches, in parks and gardens, around schools, at bus shelters, and on sports facilities.

Health and Families Minister Catherine Vautrin stated the ban is crucial to safeguarding children’s health and highlighted that smoking claims approximately 200 lives daily in France. “Where there are children, tobacco must disappear,” Vautrin told Ouest France newspaper.

The new regulations follow a report from the French Observatory for Drugs and Addictive Trends, which revealed that daily smoking rates among adults aged 18-75 have reached their lowest levels since records began in the late 1990s, with just under a quarter of the population smoking daily.

While the ban signifies a tightening of anti-smoking policies, outdoor cafe terraces will be exempt. E-cigarettes will also not be subject to the new restrictions.

France’s move aligns with a growing trend across Europe, with similar bans implemented in the UK, certain regions of Spain, and Sweden, which has outlawed smoking in outdoor restaurant terraces, bus stops, train platforms, and schoolyards since 2019. The French government hopes this latest measure will further contribute to a healthier environment for its citizens, particularly its youngest generation.

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