New Smoking Laws. How Do We All Stand?

[Stu]

"On 1 February 2007 additional smoking restrictions came into effect in France. The primary objective of these bans is to limit non-smokers' exposure to passive smoking in public or communal places.

It is forbidden to smoke in the following places:

Offices/the workplace: In any office building, in both private offices and communal areas (reception and board rooms, canteens, washrooms, gym and sports areas).
Public transport: On any public transport (trains, trams, ferries, buses, ski lifts).
Schools: Anywhere on the property - indoors and outdoor grounds - of schools and colleges.
Leisure venues: At the sport and recreation facilities used by children under 18 years. Indoors and outdoors sport arenas, fields, gymnasia and halls used by schools, colleges or children's associations.
Administrative buildings: The public access areas and individual offices, passageways and waiting rooms of all administrative buildings. Where a specific smoking area is not provided, smokers (staff and visitors) may only smoke outside.
Medical facilities: In hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities (except in private hospital rooms where conditions apply).

In January 2008 the ban will extend to coffee bars and cafés, hotels, restaurants, discotheques and tobacconists.

Smoking Areas:
Organisations and employers may provide separate smokers' areas although certain criteria must be adhered to.

An acceptable smoking area has the following:
Must be properly ventilated
Must have automatic doors
May not be part of a passageway or foyer
Must not be larger than 32m2

From JANUARY 1st 2008, France will become a NO SMOKING country.

Fines are currently 65€ per individual caught and 130€ for the person who owns the place where the individual was smoking. Not only are the police vigilant, but locals are denouncing offenders too! On the positive side, the government are funding various anti-smoking medications (gum, patches etc) for those who have decided that this is a good time to give up.

Visitors are politely reminded to look around them for smoking/non-smoking signs before lighting up!

Further Information:
Information line Tel: 0825 309 310 (Monday to Saturday 08:00-20:00)
Comprehensive details (in French) on website tabac.gouv.fr
Information from the French Government website Service Public (in French)."


Does anyone have any idea how we in France who own gites stand on this? I don't believe it applies to our situation, but I'd like some clarification. It's just one of the things on my list to ask our Maire when we meet with him on Wednesday morning.

Do our legal bods have any ideas?

[Mountain Goat]

The quotation you posted looks very clear. Why would there be a problem with gites?

MG

[Hells Bells]

Perhaps because they are also a workplace for the cleaning staff??

[Lesblancs]

All the locals come to Les Blancs each Sunday & we play boules in one of my barns.

When one 'lit up' today I did not know whether to tell him that it was now interdit!

Difficult.

Robert

[A-two]

I have never lost a booking from being a non-smoking rental home. On the contrary, we receive more bookings because of our non-smoking policy. Folks are free to smoke outside the house provided they dispose of butts in the ashtrays provided. We still have smokers book the home, and they have no problem with complying with that policy and respecting it. If you want work around it, that's up to you, but you are bucking the trend and from a business standpoint, it doesn't make sense. You would lose more business in the USA from non-smokers not booking your home because you allow smoking than you would lose from smokers who are restricted to smoking outside. So for me, it's not a difficult decision at all.

My 2 cents.

[la vache!]

I don't wish to sound flippant, but they way in which most French people interpret and enforce many of their laws is 'loose' to say the least, so it is not something that is causing me sleepless nights! I spoke to a lot of my French students at France Telecom last week and they said that although there were no communal places to smoke in the building and they had to go outside, people with their own private offices were still smoking.
I would say that more than 90% of my guests only smoke outside anyway, never in the gites.
Note to self: Must remember to put some pots with sand outside to encourage people to throw their dog ends in there rather than all over the place.

[Rocket Rab]

I don't wish to sound flippant, but they way in which most French people interpret and enforce many of their laws is 'loose' to say the least...

Never a truer word spoken, La Vache! I'm sure everyone will find some creative way of accommodating this new addition the rulebook

[Stu]

To qualify. I'm not too bothered about the gites, as they're non-smoking, with notices to that effect. We have sand buckets discreetly placed on the patios too, as I hate picking up discarded cig ends!

The problem's more with the campsite side of things, the toilet/showerblock being sometimes used as a smoking den when campers/caravanners aren't allowed to smoke in their own units by forbidding oh's! My point is really more to do with where we 'fit in' with the categories? Are we classed as a 'Leisure Venue'?

I agree with the French take on laws, and good on 'em sometimes. I believe that this is possibly going to be one of those things that will either be seen as a cash cow by those eager to claw some cash back in their communes, or it'll be treated with the usual contempt shown by the French for daft rules & regs emanating from Brussels.

[Alan Knighting]

Are we classed as a 'Leisure Venue'?

I have no idea and I don't suppose for one moment that the legislators do either.

If you are worried about it then play safe - no smoking indoors.

Fluffy