On the beach of the Maurice-Giros lake, little Tia is having a blast! Equipped with an anti-UV swimsuit, the two and a half year old little girl frolics at the water’s edge under the watchful eyes of her grandparents Chantal and Gilbert, from Carquefolians who have come for the day. The tobacco-free beach, they are for, without hesitation: Smokers leave their butts in the sand and it’s horrible for the little ones, underlines Chantal. They put them in their mouths, play with them… It’s not hygienic. I am a former smoker but I have never left my butts lying around in the sand.
I’m a smoker but I think it’s normal not to impose smoke on people
► ALSO READ. Tobacco-free spaces are gaining ground in Loire-Atlantique
A little further on, Michelle and Daniel don’t have the same opinion. I’m a smoker but I think it’s normal not to impose smoke on the people who are next to me at the beach. I leave the beach to have a toast and I always have my ashtray with me.
Daniel agrees to a point: OK for children and cigarette butts, but the smoking ban is a restriction of our freedoms.
Patricia Carrara, municipal councilor responsible for the coast for La Bernerie-en-Retz, knows this resistance well: They are the same as when we banned smoking in bars and restaurants. In 2020, we were pioneers with this tobacco-free beach label. Our municipal police officers often patrol the beach but this is not repression. We are in the business of information and awareness. The goal is to make people aware of the harmful effects of tobacco. Tobacco-free beaches are part of the prevention messages.
60% of smokers unhappy
On the Jade Coast, only three beaches are labeled tobacco-free (the lake at La Bernerie, la Birochère and the Source beach in Pornic). Why not generalize the ban to all beaches? A sudden change in behavior can be difficult to integrate, underlines Aurélie Bichon, head of prevention for the Loire-Atlantique Cancer League. 60% of smokers are unhappy with this addiction. Each time we label a space, we support the agents on site to help them find the right words and explain the process. It is the town halls that decide. The objective of tobacco-free spaces is to reduce the presence of cigarettes in children’s daily lives and in the places they frequent. These places help to prevent young people from starting to smoke and to encourage smoking cessation for those who are in the process of quitting.
According to a 2020 Ipsos poll, banning smoking in outdoor spaces enjoys massive public support among both smokers and non-smokers.
