France to stub out café smoking
2007-12-31 15:43
Paris - France's health minister rebuffed calls for last-minute changes to a strict smoking ban in cafés, restaurants and bars that kicks in on Tuesday, with the arrival of the New Year.
Cafe owners opposed to the measure won support from 160 members of parliament and a junior minister who urged President Nicolas Sarkozy to declare an exemption to the ban, especially for rural areas.
But Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot stood her ground, saying in a newspaper interview: "There will be no easing of the law."
"The government has spared no expense to help, by offering for example financial aid," she told the popular Le Parisien.
"Our objective isn't to annoy people, but to protect them. We shouldn't forget that every year 66 000 deaths are caused from smoking and 5 000 from second-hand smoke," said the minister.
Eleven months after France outlawed smoking in workplaces, shops and most other public areas, the ban will be extended to cafés, restaurants and bars on January 1.
These businesses were given extra time to set up smoking areas with ventilators, but few have taken on the large renovation and equipment costs.
'Dogmatic'
"I invite Madame Bachelot to come to a country café and see whether the smoking ban is as easy to apply as she claims," said Rene Le Pape, president of the 3 ,000-strong Confederation of Tobacconists.
Le Pape accused Bachelot of being "dogmatic" and urged the government to opt for a more flexible anti-tobacco law such as in Spain, where owners of smaller cafés are free to choose whether they want to be smoke-free.
Le Pape represents owners of "bar-tabacs", small cafes considered havens for smokers, especially in the French countryside where they serve as gregarious venues for story-swapping.
Spain was also cited as a model by Andre Santini, the minister responsible for the civil service and also president of a club of cigar aficionados.
"I am appealing for solutions, in the countryside especially. Please Mister president, please Madame Roselyne, find a solution," said Santini on RTL radio.
"Why didn't we manage to adopt a responsible system like the one for the Spaniards? We didn't have to go for the most drastic solution," he said.
Small concession
Offering a small concession to smokers, the French government has said the ban will not be enforced on New Year's Day to give revellers a few more hours to indulge their habit.
"I urge everyone to apply the law from tomorrow morning. If some want to wait until January 2, we will be tolerant," Bachelot said.
France's ban comes six months after Britain decided to make its pubs smoke-free and nearly four years after Ireland became the first European country to outlaw smoking in public places.
Germany also takes a big step toward becoming smoke-free on January 1 when tobacco is banned in restaurants, bars and nightclubs in half of its 16 federal states including Bavaria.
Bachelot noted that the introduction of smoking bans had proved a boon for cafés and bars in Ireland and Scotland, where business increased by 7% and 11%, respectively.
New clientele
That view is shared by some groups in the French hotel and restaurant industry who have come out in favour of the ban, arguing that it will bring in a new clientele, such as families who for years have shunned smoky cafés.
French newspaper commentators expressed support for the ban, pointing to the potential health benefits and declaring that they did not expect it to ignite a "tobacco war".
Under France's anti-tobacco law, smokers face fines of up to €450 while business owners can incur penalties of up to €750.