French smoking ban goes into effect today

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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.