Smokers in France can no longer light up on beaches, in parks, and in other public spaces frequented by children, after the government tightened up its anti-smoking rules.

The changes came into effect on Sunday and mean people caught smoking on beaches and in a range of other public areas could face a fine of between 135 and 700 euros ($158 and $820), although the health ministry said warnings will be issued to start with.

The prohibition was introduced to protect children from the dangers of passive, or second-hand, smoking, the government said, and extends to bus shelters and areas outside libraries, swimming pools, and schools.

"Tobacco must disappear from places where there are children," the Agence France-Presse news agency quoted Catherine Vautrin, France's minister of labor, health, solidarity, and families, as saying. "A park, a beach, a school – these are places to play, learn, and breathe. Not for smoking."

Vautrin added that people's freedom to smoke "ends where children's right to breathe clean air begins".

She said the changes are part of the government's National Anti-Tobacco Program 2023-2027, which is working "toward a tobacco-free generation" by 2032.

Anti-smoking campaigners welcomed the new rules but said they would like more to be done.

Yves Martinet, president of the National Committee Against Smoking, said the group also wants the government to also ban smoking in seating areas outside cafes, bars, and restaurants, and for electronic cigarettes to be included.

"The minister points to the protection of children (but they) also go to the terraces," Martinet said.

Official figures show that between 3,000 and 5,000 people die in France each year because of second-hand smoking, and that at least 75,000 people die annually directly because of smoking, which costs the country around 156 billion euros a year in healthcare expenses and costs associated with law enforcement, lost productivity, and so on.

But the government said the long-term news around smoking is good, with the number of smokers having fallen to the lowest point since 2000. And the ban on smoking in public places is popular with the public, with a recent opinion poll suggesting 62 percent of French people support it.

The French daily newspaper Le Monde noted that the ban was introduced one week before the start of the school summer holiday, which, it said, shows it wants to protect as many children as possible. It added that the ban had originally been slated to come into force on Tuesday but was brought forward.

The nationwide ban on smoking in public places builds on the work of 1,600 municipalities that had already established 7,000 smoke-free zones throughout France, replacing those piecemeal rules and regulations with nationwide laws that apply uniformly everywhere.

earle@mail.chinadailyuk.com