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Smokers' haven no more
By Times Wires
Published January 3, 2008
PARIS - Overnight, conviviality has taken on an entirely new meaning in France. Under a sweeping decree that took effect Wednesday, smoking has been banned in every commercial corner of "entertainment and conviviality" - from the toniest Parisian nightclub to the humblest village cafe. No matter that "cigarette" is a French word. Or that the great icons of French creativity - from Colette to Camus to Coco Chanel - all smoked. Or that Paris boasts a Museum of Smoking. The ban is the final step in a 2006 prohibition on smoking in public places, which had granted postponements to restaurants, bars and other commercial pleasure enterprises so that they could better brace themselves. Smokers who break the rules face fines of $100 to $661. Owners can be fined $198 to $1,100. The ban was supposed to take effect on Jan. 1, but to preserve the New Year's Eve party spirit - and avoid the risk of violence - French smokers were given an extra day of grace. About 12-million French people - about 20 percent of the population - are smokers, according to official figures, and more than 70,000 people die in France every year from smoking-related illnesses and secondhand smoke. The decree coincides with a European-wide nonsmoking movement that began four years ago in Ireland. But here, there are fierce pockets of resistance. Some owners of smaller bars and cafes say the ban is unfair and that it favors large, wealthy establishments that can use loopholes. For example, smoking is allowed in sophisticated indoor "hermetically sealed areas, furnished with air-extraction systems." Some called it the end of an era. "They're banning tobacco practically like it's cocaine," said Jean-Yves Oussedik, puffing on his pipe on the sidewalk terrace of cafe Les Deux Magots. Outdoors is now the only place where smoking is allowed at cafes. Information from the Associated Press and the New York Times was used in this report.
[Last modified January 3, 2008, 01:30:39]
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