Milan says no to all outside smoking in Italy’s hardest ban

People who smoke in Italy’s monetary and style capital of Milan danger being fined for lighting up on metropolis streets or crowded public areas, after the nation’s hardest ban got here into impact on Wednesday.

Those that defy the brand new prohibition within the polluted northern Italian metropolis could possibly be fined between 40 and 240 euros ($41 to $249), a punishment that doesn’t sit nicely with all residents.

“I feel this measure is extreme. So long as we’re speaking about an indoor place, I agree. as a result of (smoking) will be bothersome and it isn’t wholesome,” gross sales clerk Myrian Illiano, 21, informed AFP.

“But when we’re speaking about an open place, I do not see why one needs to be restricted.”

Nonetheless, content material creator Chiara Ciuffini, 39, was all in favor of the brand new transfer.

“I agree, as a result of I’m a sporty, non-smoking particular person. I hope people who smoke may also perceive the necessity of nonsmokers who wish to breathe cleaner air,” she mentioned.

Milan’s air high quality ordinance, handed in 2020 by town council, referred to as for progressively stricter bans on smoking.

Beginning in 2021, it was forbidden to smoke in parks and playgrounds, in addition to bus stops and sports activities amenities.

The newest smoking ban, efficient January 1, applies to “all public areas, together with streets”, except for “remoted locations the place it’s attainable to take care of a distance of a minimum of 10 meters from different folks”, in accordance with the textual content.

Native officers say the measure is geared toward lowering airborne particulates to “enhance the standard of town’s air, to guard the well being of residents, together with safety from passive smoking in public locations, additionally frequented by kids”, in accordance with a press release.

Emanuele Marinoni, vp of the Italian Tobacconists Federation and the proprietor of a tobacco store in Milan, mentioned he expects enterprise to drop by “20 to 30 p.c”.

“When an individual is within the workplace, (to smoke) they transfer to the balcony or to the road. It’s apparent that there’s certain to be a lower in (cigarette) consumption,” he mentioned.

The ban—which comes forward of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics—doesn’t apply to e-cigarettes.

Located in the course of the economic Po Valley and choked with street site visitors, Milan is considered one of Europe’s most polluted cities by way of air.

Cigarette smoke, “like all combustion, contributes to the creation of nice particles”, mentioned Anna Scavuzzo, Milan’s deputy mayor.

Low-cost smokes

Italy’s first nationwide smoking ban, in 1975, prohibited smoking on public transportation and in school rooms and sure different areas.

In 1995, the ban was prolonged to public administration areas, and in 2005, to all enclosed public areas, making it on the time a pioneer in Europe.

Some 19 p.c of Italians smoke, in accordance with the Nationwide Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) primarily based on 2023 information, decrease than the 24 p.c common inside the European Union.

Averaging round six euros a pack in Italy, cigarettes are additionally among the many least expensive in Europe, the place costs of about 10 euros are extra widespread.

Italy’s well being ministry says that 93,000 deaths per 12 months are attributed to smoking.

Smoking is chargeable for roughly 85 p.c of all circumstances of lung most cancers, the deadliest most cancers worldwide, in accordance with the World Well being Group.

Inside the European Union, 17 nations have handed smoke-free laws, with Eire, Greece, Bulgaria, Malta, Spain and Hungary the strictest.

In November, a world-leading proposal in Britain to section out smoking by younger folks handed its first parliamentary hurdle, with lawmakers overwhelmingly voting in favor.

The invoice would forestall anybody born after January 1, 2009 from legally smoking by steadily elevating the age at which tobacco will be purchased.

The federal government has mentioned it’s geared toward creating Britain’s first “smoke-free technology”.

In Europe, the fewest people who smoke are present in Sweden, the place eight p.c of the inhabitants lights up.

Worst off is Bulgaria, with people who smoke making up 37 p.c.

© 2025 AFP