The French government announced on Thursday that it will ban smoking in most public places from February 1, 2007, with the ban becoming total 11 months later. Casinos, however, will be exempt from this ban until January 1, 2008.
The law applies only to "all closed and covered public places that receive the general public or which constitute places of work". Casinos fall under the definition of "permanent establishments in which drinks are consumed, casinos, tobacconists', discotheques, hotels and restaurants."
The new law was initiated when an international study revealed that France possessed the sixth most-polluted air in public places in the world, behind Romania, Syria, Singapore, Lebanon and Belgium.
The smoking ban is meant to reduce people's exposure to second-hand smoke, and to especially benefit workers within the hospitality industry, usually associated with smoking and smoky atmospheres.
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