I’ve been to Paris, and one would assume the whole country smokes. The stereotypical French “artiste” – with his beret and his Gauloise [1] is soon to be replaced with , well, just a beret.
In places in the USA that have banned smoking in bars and restaurants, business has gone up, not down. The myth that smoking and drinking has to go together, is just a myth- and the idea that you have to light a cigarette on stage to let the audience know the character is “smoking” is just as passé.
If the French can ban smoking- it should be able to happen in Ohio. Remember to vote NO on issue 4 and YES on Issue 5 for a Smoke Free Ohio.
France to impose smoking ban from next year | Health | Reuters.com [2]
PARIS (Reuters) – France said on Sunday it will ban smoking in most public places from next February and in bars, restaurants, hotels and night clubs 11 months later.”We have decided to ban smoking in public places from February 1, 2007,” Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin told RTL radio and LCI television…
Public places include stations, museums, government offices and shops but the ban will not extend to the streets or private places such as houses or hotel rooms.
…In the report, the parliamentarians said each year between 2,500 and 5,800 people died of the consequences of passive smoking, inhaling the smoke of smokers.
Around a quarter of the adult population smokes in France and some 66,000 smokers die each year.
Polls regularly show that a majority of French people support a ban on smoking in public places…
Ireland imposed the world’s first nationwide public smoking ban in 2004. Italy, Sweden, Scotland, Norway and Spain have followed suit to varying degrees.
Belgium, Britain, Northern Ireland and Portugal are expected to put new tighter rules in place next year.