Is France set to ban smoking on restaurant and cafe terraces?

France could be set to ban smoking and e-cigarettes in outdoor restaurant and cafe terraces after a recommendation from the European Commission (EC).

It has suggested member states increase the number of smoke-free areas, and include electronic cigarettes in the ban. It claims the evidence that the latter are a help towards stopping smoking is “inconclusive”.

The proposal would extend the current 2009 guidelines, which aim to reduce exposure to passive smoking in public places, workplaces, and on public transport. 

The goal is to better protect people from the harmful effects of tobacco, smoke, and e-cigarette use, the recommendation states. It adds that the current rules have already had a considerable impact on reducing passive smoking exposure. 

The guidelines are not legally binding, but would aim to provide a framework for member states to follow. France would have to vote in the measure to implement it in its bars and restaurants. 

Proposed guidelines

Under the new guidelines, outdoor or semi-outdoor areas spaces such as open-air ‘roof’ areas, balconies, porches and patios - in restaurants, bars and cafés would become smoke-free zones.

Public transport hubs, including bus stops and airports, would also be included. Smoking would be banned in outdoor areas associated with workplaces, hospitals and retirement homes. Leisure areas where children are present - including public playgrounds, amusement parks, swimming pools and zoos - would also be affected, as would educational establishments, from crèches to universities.

On May 31 (the World Health Organization’s World No Tobacco Day), EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said: “Smoking, nicotine addiction and tobacco-induced diseases should have no place in Europe's future.”

She said that the guidelines are part of the Commission's ‘overcoming cancer’ plan, which aims to create a ‘tobacco-free generation’ by 2040, reduce smoking by 30% by 2025, and cut the proportion of smokers in the EU population to just 5%.

However, the proposal has not yet been finalised, and could still be changed before being adopted by the council.

Mixed reactions

Initial reactions from cafe users and patrons has been less-than-enthusiastic.

One café owner told FranceInfo that banning smoking would always be “a brake on business”, and said they had already suffered the impact since smoking was banned indoors in 2008. 

Another said that the recommendation was “excessive”, and that they had “never had any problems with smokers on the terrace.”

One cafe user said: “I'm totally against banning smoking on terraces because it's a question of freedom. And I don’t see who it's bothering.”