PARIS (AFP) — France began 2008 under a new smoking ban in cafes and restaurants that drove smokers out into the street to light up their cigarettes as bar owners put away ashtrays.
The ban signals a sizeable cultural shift for one of Europe's last smokers' bastions, particularly in Paris where cafe society and cigarettes have traditionally gone hand-in-hand.
"It's an enjoyable moment that is now gone forever: smoking over coffee," said Brigitte Caboulet, puffing on her cigarette outside a Paris boulevard cafe early Tuesday.
Like many other smokers standing out in the cold, Caboulet said she was resigned to the fact that she could no longer light up in her favourite cafe.
"Soon, we will be like the Americans. We won't be able to wear perfume," she quipped.
"I'll get used to it," said Thomas Sechet, tossing his cigarette butt on the sidewalk. "We've known for a while that this was coming."
Despite some grumblings, opinion polls show broad support for the ban, which came into effect with the ringing in of the New Year, 11 months after France banned smoking in workplaces, shops and other public areas.
Under France's anti-tobacco law, cafes, restaurants and nightclubs were given more time to set up separate smoking areas with ventilators, but few have taken on the large renovation and equipment costs.
Also on Tuesday, a smoking ban in cafes and restaurants went into effect across several regions of Germany and in Portugal as part of a growing anti-smoking wave in Europe that began when Ireland outlawed tobacco in public places in 2004.
In Paris, Jean-Claude Chenu, manager of the Cafe Gramont, put up his no-smoking signs when he opened at 8:00 am.
"There has been no problem," Chenu said, adding that customers were stepping outside to light up, despite the cold.
"For me it's a matter of respect for the people working behind the bar. We don't want to breathe in their smoke all day," he said.
"Smokers are getting the message," said Daniel Tual, a waiter at Le Marivaux cafe in central Paris where no-smoking signs also went up early Tuesday.
"I haven't had to ask anyone to stop smoking. They are going outside."
The French government however gave some respite to New Year's revellers who failed to stub out at the stroke of midnight, saying it would enforce the ban starting on Wednesday.
This prompted some cafe owners to keep the ashtrays out for one final day.
As of Wednesday, smokers who light up in public places face fines of up to 450 euros (645 dollars) while business owners can incur penalties of up to 750 euros for violations.
There are about 13.5 million smokers in France, in a population of 60 million.
Up until the last-minute, some groups representing cafe owners had appealed to the government to ease the ban, arguing that it would cut business and drive some establishments to bankruptcy.
"To throw our customers out in the street to smoke is tantamount to shooting ourselves in the foot," said Rene Le Pape, the president of the 30,000-member Confederation of Tobacconists.
But other groups in the restaurant industry supported the measure, saying it would bring in a new clientele, such as families who for years have shunned smoky cafes.
"Our objective isn't to annoy people, but to protect them," Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said.
"We shouldn't forget that every year 66,000 deaths are caused from smoking and 5,000 from second-hand smoke."
In anticipation of the growing legions of smokers puffing out in the cold, Paris city authorities announced plans to distribute 10,000 "pocket ashtrays" in the coming weeks to ensure the capital's sidewalks are not littered with cigarette butts.
The small round ashtray tins are designed to fit nicely in trouser pockets but can still hold butts from several cigarettes, say city authorities.
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