Smoking Ban on Beaches in Nice

In the French city of Nice, a total ban on smoking is planned to be implemented on all municipal beaches by summer 2024. 

This information was reported by Le Figaro, citing the words of the city's mayor, Christian Estrosi. 

"I pursue a dual goal: to protect the health of Nice residents and to protect the environment," said Estrosi.

According to the French official, about 150 million cigarette butts are annually discarded in Nice. Therefore, cigarettes have become one of the main sources of environmental pollution. Now the city plans to "cleanse public places of tobacco smoke," starting with the Nice coastline. 

It is worth noting that in 2025, Nice will host the UN summit on ocean issues. Therefore, Mayor Christian Estrosi has already announced plans to make the city tobacco-free by this date, thereby creating a "worthy example to follow."

Earlier  last summer, a smoking ban on beaches was already introduced in the neighboring city of Cannes. The results were positive, and other coastal cities on the French Riviera adopted the initiative. The global trend of smoking de-popularization is becoming more widespread in Western countries, particularly due to proven health risks. 

In the European Union, tobacco use is considered one of the main risk factors for premature death. According to statistics, about 700,000 people die prematurely in the European Union each year due to smoking-related diseases. Moreover, about half of smokers die prematurely—on average, about 14 years earlier.

Recall that the Netherlands has joined the list of countries that have adopted six economically effective political measures, better known as MPOWER, aimed at reducing the negative impact of smoking. Among them are monitoring; protecting people from tobacco smoke; providing assistance in quitting smoking; warning about the harm of tobacco; ensuring compliance with bans on advertising, sales promotion, and sponsorship; and raising taxes on tobacco products.

These actions have already led to a significant reduction in the number of smokers—from 25.7% of the population in 2014 to 20.6% in 2021. 

Recall that The Gaze previously reported that France plans to ban electronic cigarettes.