Officials issue sweeping crackdown on smoking in many outdoor spaces: 'The freedom of children to breathe fresh air'

France is making a strong push to ensure that its next generation will have cleaner air and healthier lungs, according to the BBC.

On July 1, the country enacted a ban on cigarette smoking in all outdoor places where children may be present. This includes beaches, parks, and even schools.

The new legislation will also increase penalties for the sale of tobacco and vaping products to minors, which is now classified as a fifth-class offense. Anyone in violation of the ban will be hit with a fine equivalent to $153.

Minister of Labor, Health, Solidarity, and Families Catherine Vautrin offered up a pointed explanation of the ban. "Tobacco must disappear where there are children," Vautrin told Ouest-France, per the BBC.

While smoking is still considered legal in France, it will become a bit harder for anyone to take a quick smoke break while in public.

"The freedom to smoke must end where the freedom of children to breathe fresh air begins," added Vautrin.

According to a report from the World Health Organization, there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke.

Breathing secondhand smoke can cause severe cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, such as coronary heart disease and lung cancer. In fact, it results in the premature deaths of about 1.6 million people every year.

Tobacco production and smoking also contribute to gas emissions, including carbon dioxide, a driving force behind the steady rise of the global temperature.

For decades, France's population garnered a reputation for having an affinity for smoking cigarettes. You'd be hard-pressed to watch classic French cinema and not see a character on screen puff on a cigarette. And the real-world data appears to back up that reputation.

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As noted by the Tobacco Atlas, 29.2% of people aged 15 and over in France said they smoke regularly in 2022.

However, recent anti-smoking campaigns targeted toward French youth have shown to decrease the prevalence of teen smokers following the COVID-19 pandemic, with the active use of cigarettes dropping from 13.6% in 2018 to 10.2% in 2021 among adolescents.

"Today, 90% of smokers start before the age of 18," reads a press release from the Ministry of Labor, Health, Solidarity, and Families. "We must put an end to the creation of early smokers: at 17, you build your future, not your addiction."

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