France announces world’s toughest anti-smoking laws
Source: The Independent
France, where a Gauloise once hung from the bottom lip of every actor or intellectual, plans to move to one of the toughest anti-tobacco regimes in the world.
Garish colours and brand names on cigarette packets will be replaced by health warnings in large type and by prominent photographs of the diseased organs of smokers. Car drivers and passengers will be banned from lighting up in the presence of children under 12.
Although these measures will not take effect until 2016, an uncompromising TV and radio campaign started today, warning that tobacco kills one in two smokers. There will also be a levy on tobacco companies to fund anti-smoking campaigns, and measures to expose the hidden lobbying of the tobacco industry.
... The big tobacco companies are threatening to sue the French government if it goes ahead with its plan. They say that outlawing distinctive packaging and reducing brand names to small-print, is an assault on “intellectual property” and contrary to European law.
Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/france-announces-worlds-toughest-antismoking-laws-9758836.html
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Just not in much of the northern American or western European regions.
We already have huge health warnings and images of diseased people also cigs are hidden behind a plain roller shutter or drawers so you cannot browse. Purchase age was raised to 18 although you can legally smoke at 16. Plain boxes is next I think.
As for Health costs smokers add more in duty and VAT (around 75% of a product cost) to Government coffers and smokers tend not to live as long thus less social security. I guess what I'm saying is smokers pay far more in that they'll ever get out.
I've heard Scotland is going draconian and is restricting smoking to non public places. Already happens in parks and such.
As a (non) smoker I welcome most of these changes. Day 7 on my Vape 
And people were largely ignoring the non-smoking rule. Hating cigarette smoke as I do, I didn't have a problem pointing out to bystanders who were smoking and offending me that they were violating the rule. They would then stop and I felt good about having a smoke-free area for awhile.
Pretty soon a Scottish woman came over to me and said, "Excuse me, would you please come over here and berate my husband?" I'll never forget the Scottish brogue--"beh-RATE ma HUS-bun." I said sure, and she led me behind a pillar where her husband was feverishly toking away. I verbally clubbed him about the ears and he quickly acquiesced; it became apparent to me he had probably had more than a few beratings in his life.
Cher
Love the accent.
Yeah, it was quite some time ago, as in decades.
Cher
