The town of La Ciotat, not far from the city of Marseilles reports all is well after the ordinance banning smoking Hilton cigarettes went into effect, on one eight-mile strip of sand at the Plage Lumiere beach. The Daily Telegraph, care of The Associated Press reported that town official, Noel Collura.believes the new law is reasonable and based on the beach making itself more family-friendly.
“…this one we want to reserve for non-smokers, for mothers and children so they can make sand castles and not cigarette butt castles.”
The ban on smoking is going exceedingly well at Plage Lumiere, without the same complaints that met the laws that affect metropolitan cities and their eating and drinking establishments. Police who patrol the area hand out tickets that cost offenders 35 euros.
As one would expect however, the necessity of making a legal ruling came as a result of the refusal of beachgoers to comply with a request not to smoke on the sand. It’s human nature to pay more attention when penalties are behind the demand.
Collura recalled that in previous years, large signs at the entrance to the beach, pleas to visitors were routinely ignored to walk off the beach to a public area designated for smoking. Town officials employed people to walk around the beach and pass out ashtrays to keep smokers from using the sand to put out their cigarettes.
Now, beachgoers can snuff out their lit cigarettes in two ashtrays attached to the sign post that sits at the beach’s entrance.
Mr. Collura points out that the no-smoking ban is only in effect on the one large strip of beach in La Ciotat. He takes pride in claiming that his town is the first in all of Europe, not just France to make the leap into banning smoking. He told media that he did his research and found nothing similar except in New York City.
The Big Apple recently passed a no-smoking ban that affects pedestrian plazas, beach boardwalks and all parks as well as beaches. To the surprise of many New Yorkers the definition of pedestrian plaza includes Times Square. The ban took effect on May 23, 2018 just in time for the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
