Smoking in open-air bars and at bus stops could soon be banned in Italy, according to a draft law published by La Stampa. The health ministry’s proposed crackdown on smoking would include e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products as well as regular cigarettes. In addition to outdoor bars, the ban will be extended to parks when there are pregnant women and children, reported La Stampa.
The law proposed by the Italian Giorgia Meloni government’s health minister who is a technocrat with no party affiliation needs the approval of the cabinet before it is tabled for a vote in parliament. But after Health Minister Orazio Schillaci promised in January to combat smoking and vaping outdoors, the proposal was met with criticism from many members of the far-right government.
Italy’s deputy prime minister and Lega leader Matteo Salvini tweeted, “E-cigarettes are helping so many people to give up regular cigarettes,” adding: “As an ex-smoker who quit four years ago, the ban on smoking them outdoors seems over the top.” The health minister was asked to respond without making a comment.
Deputy Minister of Culture Vittorio Sgarbi, known for his candid views, told the ADN-Kronos news agency that the proposed ban “is something typical of an authoritarian and dictatorial communist regime.”
In Italy, smoking has been banned in public places such as bars, restaurants, nightclubs and offices since 2005 in a law passed since 2003. 24% of Italians are regualr smokers.
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