Faced with an upsurge in the number of smokers with the appearance of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco, the Italian government is considering a radical decision: ban smoking in public spaces.
Smoking at the bus stop, on the terrace or in the game air could soon be banned in Italy. The measure is being seriously studied by the transalpine government. All public space would be affected, with a ban on station platforms or at the beach. The smoking rooms could be removed. This measure which does not only concern the traditional cigarette, but also its electronic evolution or heated tobacco.
The new cigarettes are also in the sights of the authorities. In 2005, two years before France, Italy banned tobacco from enclosed public places, reducing the number of smokers. But for two years, the figure has started to rise again with a spectacular increase in vapers or consumers of heated tobacco, now three times more numerous.
“With this measure, the authorities would like to reverse the trend and reduce the number of smokers. Today, a quarter of the population says they smoke daily, and 93,000 people die of it each year, that’s almost 30,000 more than in France”. recalls Raphaële Schapira, France Télévisions journalist at the Rome office (Italy).
