Sweden will ban smoking in outdoor public areas beginning in July, reports Famagusta Gazette.
The smoking ban includes outdoor serving areas at cafes and restaurants, public playgrounds, bus shelters, train platforms, sports arenas and entrances to civic buildings. The ban applies to both cigarettes and e-cigarettes.
“The goal is to prevent people suffering from diseases associated with smoking and passive smoking, such as cancer,” Minister for Health and Social Affairs Lena Hallengren was quoted as saying.
The new legislation is a step toward the government’s “Smoke-Free Sweden 2025” goal, which aims to see less than 5 percent of the population smoking by the year 2025. As it stands, only 11 percent of the total Swedish population smoked daily in 2016. Smoking in bars and restaurants has been banned since 2005.