Three years after the start of the smoking ban, the French start puffing again at work and just about everywhere else.
The French anti-smoking lobby has just released a desperate report which shows that smoking is back at the workplace, where it was banned in 2007.
One in five workers now complain about other people’s smoke, against only 9% in 2008. With smoking prohibited in restaurants, terraces have become a refuge for smokers. Although it’s legal to smoke under a tarpaulin, provided the main side is open, half of the 40,000 terraces are now closed on all sides, concludes the report.
Trains are not safe either. One train car in the Paris metro suffers a daily hijack by smokers who have imposed their own law, and have spotters on the lookout for inspectors who are in no hurry to take action anyway. Smoking also pollutes neighborhood relations; more and more smokers light up on their balcony, annoying those who live above. The reports also regrets that cigarettes are prominently present in magazines, in movies and on television, where singers don’t hesitate to smoke — even on public channels.
Yeah, and guess what? In Germany, no smoke in restaurants or at work. One more reason not to live in France.
I don’t think it’s a big deal if people try to find ways to circumvent the non-smoking laws. The main thing is that smoking is gradually being marginalized. The point is not to harass a 50-something year old who’s been smoking for 35 years, but to help kids NOT become smokers.
And that appears to be working.