Smoking is to be banned in many
open-air settings in Italy, 20 years after it was banned
indoors, La Stampa newspaper reported on Sunday.
The new ban, covering outside areas of bars, bus stops and parks
where children and pregnant women are present, will also cover
e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, according to draft
decrees the Turin daily said are ready.
The Italian association of Environmental Medicine welcomed the
new proposed ban on Monday saying that vaping products were
gateway drugs for tobacco addiction.
People who start vaping when they are young will go on to become
smokers, they said.
Former minister Carlo Giovanardi, who was instrumental in the
2003 ban on indoor smoking introduced by then health minister
Giovanni Sirchia, said "there will be more freedom for all with
this new regulation," arguing that "people will still be able to
smoke outdoors, but not when there are others present".
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