Bad news for French cigar smokers

[Li Bai]

If you're planning on visiting France and enjoy cigars this summer, you might want to read this...

https://www.cigars-connect.com/le-tabac-interdit-sur-les-plages-et-dans-les-jardins-publics-a-partir-du-1er-juillet/

[amberleaf]

You're more likely to force a Frenchman to be faithful to his wife than to stop them smoking wherever they want.

As someone who visits France often I'm almost certain it will be ignored and won't be enforced. Only a year ago I wandered into the bar of the hotel I was staying at to find the owner and half a dozen patrons smoking away. At a 2023 RWC game in Nice there were smoking areas in the stands with some people smoking in their seats!

 

[Li Bai]

I don't know, many cafés in Paris have turned their terrasses smoke-free the last few years, something one couldn't imagine even 5 years ago.

But you're right, I can't see it being strongly enforced... I'll keep you all posted.

[bmac]

My aunt just returned from France and she said people smoked everywhere. She was shocked.

[Marco_011t556]

I was in Paris back to 2023 and had a coffee in a cafe.

I asked: "can I smoke here?" (Sitting outside of the cafe, no ceiling/ shelf on top.)

Owner: "yes, sure!" 

Then I burned my D4… 

Owner: "Sir, sorry you can only smoke cigarette but not cigar, too smoky!"😂😂

[Li Bai]

6 hours ago, Marco_011t556 said:

Owner: "Sir, sorry you can only smoke cigarette but not cigar, too smoky!" 😂😂

Typical

[JohnS]

I'll find out more (about this) later this year!

Edited Sunday at 01:25 AM by ATGroom
Corrected spelling error.

[Arabian]

8 hours ago, bmac said:

My aunt just returned from France and she said people smoked everywhere. She was shocked.

Smoking in many parts of Europe is very common. Here in Saudi Arabia a cigarette + black coffee is a delicious breakfast. 

8 hours ago, Li Bai said:

I don't know, many cafés in Paris have turned their terrasses smoke-free the last few years, something one couldn't imagine even 5 years ago.

But you're right, I can't see it being strongly enforced... I'll keep you all posted.

One solution that many cafes/restaurants do is to split their establishment into two sections. Smoking area/non-smoking. a cafe without a visible ashtray placed outside is a no-no. 

[Vetteman]

19 hours ago, Marco_011t556 said:

I was in Paris back to 2023 and had a coffee in a cafe.
I asked: "can I smoke here?" (Sitting outside of the cafe, no ceiling/ shelf on top.)
Owner: "yes, sure!" 
Then I burned my D4… 
Owner: "Sir, sorry you can only smoke cigarette but not cigar, too smoky!"

This was my experience in many bars, restaurants, etc. in the US before smoking was banned. I never understood how 20 people smoking cigarette after cigarette wasn’t worse than 1 or 2 cigars.

[Habanoschris]

On 5/31/2025 at 8:00 AM, JohnS said:

I'll found out more (about this) later this year!

Are you planning a trip to France later this year John?  
*Or you mean research-wise.  

[Miguel Gracias]

Go to Croatia… had blasting time for a night. 

[Cigarsmoker81]

When I was there last year there were several cafes in Paris that told me I can smoke cigarette but not cigar. I was puzzled but I respected their decision and left. 

[VeguerosMAN]

On 5/30/2025 at 11:04 AM, bmac said:

My aunt just returned from France and she said people smoked everywhere. She was shocked.

I am assuming most of them are cigarette smokers, not cigars, correct?  

[BoliDan]

On 5/30/2025 at 8:42 AM, Li Bai said:

I don't know, many cafés in Paris have turned their terrasses smoke-free the last few years, something one couldn't imagine even 5 years ago.

But you're right, I can't see it being strongly enforced... I'll keep you all posted.

That's how it happened in the US. Growing up everyone smoked. Then they started banning them in bars and other public places. I was shocked about the bars since it was adults only and was mad about it. But ultimately, smoking became more annoying with all the barriers and I just quit. Now, virtually no one smokes cigarettes. I can see France wanting to end their smoking culture. 

[Li Bai]

13 hours ago, BoliDan said:

I can see France wanting to end their smoking culture. 

That's what I see too.

As strange as it may appear to foreigners who visit France, there's a strong anti-smoking lobbying going on here since the early 2000s. 

Advertising tobacco products is prohibited, smoking in your car (personal or professional) is prohibited (though not strongly enforced), and from July 1st smoking in public parks and beaches will be prohibited too.

18 years ago the President of Pour Une Poignée de Cigares (the French CC forum from which I came from) was taken to court by an anti-smoking organisation for encouraging smoking, which he was not but talking of our passion is "encouraging smoking" to some. He nearly lost everything he had, the case was dismissed eventually but the members of the biggest CC forum in French language couldn't access it without a registration and a password any longer.

To sum it up, the laws here are severe albeit not that strictly enforced, but we're definitely getting to it one step at a time.

[ha_banos]

Regarding the ban extension.

Council of

Uncompromising

Non sensical 

Tobacco

Suppression

at it again.

 

[VeguerosMAN]

I think most table games in Vegas does not allow cigar smoking now but allow cigs. Sooner or later they will allow weeds and ban cigars in casinos 

[JohnS]

On 5/31/2025 at 7:27 PM, Habanoschris said:

Are you planning a trip to France later this year John?  
*Or you mean research-wise.  

I'll be there in October for a three weeks. I'm interested to see what things are like outside of Paris (as I will be visiting a few regions across the country).

[HP2]

1 hour ago, VeguerosMAN said:

I think most table games in Vegas does not allow cigar smoking now but allow cigs. Sooner or later they will allow weeds and ban cigars in casinos 

I was just in Vegas and every table game I played I had to stand 6’ away from the table if I wanted to take a puff of my cigar. They had no problem with the lit cigar resting in an ashtray on the table,  just had to step away 6’ to take a puff. Meanwhile, the smell of marijuana is everywhere. There were some people smoking weed in the lobby of the MGM and no one batted an eye. Times have certainly changed. 

[JohnS]

French Government Banning Most Outdoor Smoking

Beaches, parks and more are targeted while café terraces will remain smoker-friendly

 Jun 3, 2025 - By Garrett Rutledge 

Photo/ADDICTIVE STOCK CREATIVES/Alamy Stock Photo

Starting on July 1, it will be illegal to smoke in most outdoor public spaces in France. The new, sweeping ban is taking aim at primary points of congregation in outdoor spaces, namely beaches, parks, sports facilities, bus stops, gardens and areas close to schools. While the legislation is targeted at young people and limiting their exposure to tobacco and nicotine products, e-cigarettes are not included as part of the ban and smoking on France’s famed café terraces will remain legal.

“Where there are children, tobacco must disappear,” said Health Minister Catherine Vautrin in an interview with Ouest-France, who said that she hopes to “denormalize tobacco” for young people, and seeks to achieve this aim by implementing a 135 euro (roughly $154) fine for smoking in the targeted public areas. The move comes during a time in which smoking levels have drastically decreased in France. According to The French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT), tobacco sales in France dropped more than 11.5 percent last year. 

As part of these new tobacco control measures, it appears that the French government is also aiming to restrict nicotine levels in tobacco and vaping products and introduce strict limits on vape flavors. These plans are said to go into effect roughly one year from now, but the actual makeup of the restrictions remains unclear. Health Minister Vautrin says the government needs “scientific and technical opinions to establish the details.” As of now, it's unsure how cigars will be impacted in this regard, if at all. 

While the new ban is an official, nationwide decree, many local municipalities have already banned smoking in certain public spaces, especially at beaches. But the move at the national level represents a more formal anti-tobacco stance from the French government. A potential generational tobacco ban could loom ahead, which Vautrin didn’t rule out in her interview. While such a move may seem like a giant leap from banning smoking in public spaces where children tend to gather there are reasons to believe it could take place. 

The U.K., for example, is in the midst of passing the Tobacco and Vapes bill, which is almost out of Parliament. The bill is far stricter, aiming to make it illegal, in perpetuity, for anyone born after January 1, 2009 to buy tobacco products, including cigars. But the proposal also includes more measures, such as plain packaging for all tobacco products, banning flavored vapes and banning outdoor smoking in certain places, such as playgrounds, outside schools and outside hospitals, while excluding areas outside pubs. The latter stipulation is virtually identical to the new law in France and is part of a larger effort aimed at creating “tobacco-free generations,” legislation that is appearing in more places around the world. New Zealand kicked things off in 2023, passing a nationwide generational tobacco ban, but the legislation was eventually repealed. And recently, state and local governing bodies in Massachusetts and elsewhere in the United States have begun proposing, and implementing, their own generational bans.

Source: https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/french-government-banning-most-outdoor-smoking

[ha_banos]

Lol more bad news for France 

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yelvlnzveo

 

[El Presidente]

On 6/5/2025 at 3:14 AM, ha_banos said:

Lol more bad news for France 

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yelvlnzveo

 

"Pornhub is the most visited porn site in the world - with France its second biggest market, after the US."

 

 Sacré bleu!!!