Au revoir les fumeurs wrote:
> Smoking Ban Goes Into Effect in France
> Thursday February 1
>
> Smoking Ban Goes Into Effect in France, to the Chagrin of Many of
> Country's Smokers
>
> PARIS (AP) -- A ban on smoking in public spaces went into effect
> Thursday in France, prompting exasperation among many of the country's
> estimated 15 million smokers.
>
> The ban prohibits lighting up in workplaces, schools, airports,
> hospitals and other "closed and covered" public places. Bars, cafes
> and restaurants are exempt for the moment, but are also to go
> smoke-free next year.
>
> Many in France fear the ban may alter the way of life in a country
> known for its smoke-filled cafes, and some French smokers have decried
> it as attack on their personal freedoms.
>
> Barbara Laru, a saleswoman at a shop in Paris' mammoth Saint Lazare
> train station, called the ban "ridiculous."
>
> Laru -- who risked a 68 euros ($88) fine from one of the ban's 175,000
> enforcement agents by lighting up -- explained she had no choice but
> to break the law because leaving the station for a smoke took too
> long.
>
> "I can't take breaks all the time," she said. Ironically, Laru's work
> ethic could end up costing her employer: Under the ban, bosses who let
> smokers light up in the workplace risk fines of 135 euros ($174).
>
> The French government has said it will help smokers kick the habit by
> reimbursing up to 50 euros ($65) per person per year for stop-smoking
> aids. It also will allow companies to invest in strictly regulated
> smoking rooms inside the workplace.
>
> With the ban, France joins the ranks of Italy, Spain, Belgium, Britain
> and Ireland, which already have enacted broad anti-smoking laws.
About time for another revolution?
bernie
--
"Official ASC Shaman"
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