Milan has banned smoking in outdoor and public areas, effective Jan. 1, 2025, reports Euro News.
The ban includes “all public spaces, including streets” but provides an exception for isolated spaces as long as smokers maintain a distance of at least 10 meters from other people. Those caught violating the ban face fines ranging from €40 to €240.
The ban aims to improve the city’s air quality and protect the health of citizens from secondhand smoke. Milan is one of Europe’s most polluted cities in terms of air quality.
The new law does not apply to electronic cigarettes, however.
Smoking will be banned in some outdoor public locations in Geneva beginning June 1, reports SWI. Bus stops, playgrounds and outside of schools are included in the ban.
The government has modified the law to create “healthy outdoor environments that are smoke-free.”
Under the law, smoking will be banned within a 9 meter perimeter of playgrounds, schools and day care centers, and smoking zones will be created at least 9 meters from outdoor swimming pools. Smoking will be completely banned at local bus stops.
Geneva Parliament agreed to the change in January 2022. Those caught breaking the law will be subject to a fine.
Since May 1, 2010, smoking has been banned in Switzerland in enclosed spaces when they are open to the public or serve as a workplace for more than one person. Smoking is banned in restaurants, public buildings and offices as well as on public transport. Smoking is permitted in separate smoking rooms, outdoors and in private homes.
Home to the global headquarters of Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco International, Switzerland has historically lagged behind its neighbors in anti-smoking legislation, but that is starting to change.
In 2022, Swiss voters approved a referendum limiting tobacco and e-cigarette advertising.
Cigarette smokers in Miami Beach could face up to 60 days in jail if caught repeatedly smoking on the city’s beaches and public parks. The new law went into effect on Jan. 1.
Vaping products, cigars and unfiltered cigarettes are still permitted.
Police officers will be issuing $100 civil fines to first offenders and $200 fines to second offenders within a 12-month period.
Police officers will be able to arrest repeat offenders at their discretion. The maximum punishment is a $500 fine and 60 days in jail, according to Local10News.
Governor Ron DeSantis made the ban possible when he signed a law in June that allowed local officials to regulate cigarette smoking at public beaches and parks.
The only Miami Beach commissioner who voted against the measure was Ricky Arriola, who said it will distract police officers from public safety.
“We shouldn’t be enforcing a law like this,” Arriola said.
Belgium has banned smoking and vaping at train stations, both indoor and outdoor, effective Jan. 1, 2023, according to The Brussels Times.
The ban will apply to all 550 stations in Belgium, and those caught in violation will be fined. Ashtrays will be removed from platforms, and prohibition signs at visible places will indicate the ban.
“Our children have the right to grow up in good health, including without exposure to tobacco. As children see fewer and fewer people smoking, the absence of tobacco is becoming the new norm for them,” said Marc Michils, Generation Smoke-Free spokesperson. “Generation Smoke-Free welcomes this measure that brings us closer to the first generation without tobacco.”
“There are 14,000 victims of tobacco every year in Belgium—that should spur us into action,” said Federal Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet. The ban will “ensure healthier air on the platforms and, above all, reduce the pressure for young people who have quit or want to quit smoking.”
The Austrian government plans to expand the country’s smoking ban to include “additional outdoor public places” in 2023, according to The Local.
The new amendment to the Tobacco and Nonsmoker Protection Act would add public places, such as “children’s playgrounds and recreational areas for children and young people,” to the list of banned smoking areas. The amendment would also regulate nicotine pouches, which have become increasingly popular among young people.
A ban on indoor smoking, including in bars and restaurants, was implemented in 2019.
The new amendment will be reviewed at the beginning of 2023.
The Taiwan Cabinet approved a draft amendment to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act, which would raise the legal smoking age to 20 from 18 as well as impose a ban on electronic cigarettes and flavored tobacco products, according to Focus Taiwan.
The draft amendment will now go to the legislature for deliberation.
If signed into law, those found in violation of the new age restrictions would face a fine ranging from TWD2,000 ($72) to TWD10,000.
Those found violating the ban on manufacture, import, sale, supply, display, advertising and use of all tobacco-like products, including e-cigarettes, could face a fine ranging from TWD10 million to TWD50 million.
The proposed bill would provide a legal basis for regulation of new tobacco products, such as heated-tobacco products, stating that suppliers of new tobacco products with unknown health risks should file an application for assessment of said products within a specific time period before suppliers are allowed to manufacture or import the products. Those caught violating this regulation could face a fine up to TWD50 million.
The bill goes further, expanding the smoking ban to colleges and universities, kindergartens, baby care centers and in-home childcare locations. Smoking in bars and nightclubs would only be allowed in designated areas. Graphic warnings and text would also be increased to 85 percent from 35 percent of the total package surface.
The New York State Academy of Family Physicians is urging Governor Andrew Cuomo to ban the sale of all tobacco products to help fight the spread of coronavirus.
The group cites a study connecting smoking to a higher risk of contracting the illness. “As our state and country struggle to respond to the rapidly evolving and escalating Covid-19 pandemic affecting our residents and straining our healthcare system, mounting evidence demonstrates the link between tobacco use and increased risk for progressive Covid-19,” said Barbara Keber, president of the New York State Academy of Family Physicians.
Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, Cuomo had banned flavored tobacco-based vapor products to fight against the rise in youth usage.
The Tampa House Authority (THA) in Florida, US, is implementing a ‘three strikes and you’re out rule’ in relation to smoking in its public housing, according to a News Talk Florida story.
Towards the end of last year, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued its final rule on cigarette use in taxpayer-funded housing that requires the country’s 3,100 Public Housing Agencies to adopt smoke-free policies by the fall of 2018.
It has been left up to the housing authorities how to enforce the rule.
Some residents of the Robles Village Park in Tampa are not happy about the way that the rule is being applied.
Shelia Williams, who has lived at the park for five years and is trying to quit smoking, said officials had made a sudden change rather than allowing current residents a chance to be grandfathered in by applying the rules only to new residents.
Reva Iman is another resident who has a problem with the ban and he intends to deliver to the THA board a residents’ petition.
“When you’re paying your bills, and you’re abiding by most of the rules here on this property, how can you tell someone you can’t smoke in your units?” Iman was quoted as saying.
The city of Shenzhen in China’s Guangdong province implemented from the beginning of this year a tobacco smoking ban in all indoor public places, according to a World Health Organization note.
“Shenzhen will join a growing list of cities around the world where smoking in indoor public venues is completely prohibited, without exception,” said Dr. Bernhard Schwartländer, WHO representative in China.
“A 100 percent smoke-free law is the only way to protect the people and visitors to this city from the toxic harms of second-hand smoke.
“There is no other way: there is simply no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke.”
The Shenzhen tobacco-smoke-free law was said to be a ‘model law’, fully compliant with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
‘The law was adopted in October 2013 as the first comprehensive smoke-free law to be passed in China,’ the WHO noted. ‘However, a grace period was given to certain entertainment and leisure venues to fully comply with the law.’
The period of grace ended on December 31.
Under the law, tobacco smoking is banned also across some outdoor areas, including those associated with schools, educational and healthcare facilities, parks, stadiums and fitness clubs.
In addition, tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship are banned.
‘The law includes strong penalties and enforcement is closely co-ordinated between eight government departments and agencies,’ WHO noted. ‘The challenge now will be to ensure that inspectors have the resources they need and are granted complete access to obtain evidence of violations, and that penalties are consistently imposed.’
WHO said that a draft national smoke-free law was being debated at the State Council.
Malta will be marking the start of 2017 with a ban on smoking and vaping in private cars when people under the age of 16 are present, according to a story in The Times of Malta.
‘Children are at particular risk from the effects of passive smoking because they have an increased risk of developing chest infections during their first five years,’ the Health Ministry was quoted as saying.
‘Babies who are exposed to cigarette smoke are also at a greater risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), which is also known as cot death.’
The ministry said also that smoke made children more vulnerable to ear infections and asthma.
Levels of toxins from smoking in cars could reach high counts very quickly, it added.
The ban, it was reported, will apply to ‘all tobacco products’ and electronic cigarettes.
Drivers will be held responsible for violations and be liable to a fine of €50, but passengers caught smoking in a car in the presence of minors will also be liable to a fine of €50.
Smoking was banned in all enclosed public spaces in Malta in April 2004.
