Smoking ban

France is following the lead of other European countries like Ireland, Italy or Spain. But kicking the habit here won't be easy. Even though the number of smokers is declining, cigarettes for many remain as much a part of the French art of living as wine and fatty foods. The country is divided with opponents of the smoking ban crying, "Liberte!" in defence of their right to light up and anti-smoking crusaders responding "Egalite" - equality - for their right not to inhale smoke from neighbours at cafes and bars. In the end, "Fraternite" suffers.

The French connection to smoking runs deep. The word "cigarette" is French - the diminutive of cigar. "Nicotine" comes from the name of Jean Nicot, a French ambassador who first shipped tobacco home from Portugal in the 16th century. But the addiction carries a heavy price: Some 65 000 French people die each year from smoking-related illness or effects of second-hand smoke.

While the ban will mark an important health and cultural shift for France, the country has in fact been gradually weaning itself off smokes for years. Today, the caricature of a beret-wearing
Frenchmen with a Gauloises stuck to his bottom lip hardly rings true. In the 1950s, about three of every four French men smoked, though far fewer women did. Now, just a quarter of the French do - roughly on par with their counterparts in Britain, Italy and Germany, according to statistics agency Eurostat.
The new ban is being preceded by a hard-hitting anti-smoking advertising campaign from the Health Ministry. One depicts a mother smoking in a car with two children in the back seat, acknowledging
that she is increasing their chance of contracting a lung infection by 70 percent. Starting in February the ministry will give would-be quitters €50 coupons redeemable for the purchase of nicotine patches, chewing gum or lozenges. Since 2003, when President Jacques Chirac first declared "war on tobacco," the government has jacked up taxes, raising the average price of cigarettes by about 50 percent to around €5 per pack.

A key question is whether authorities will succeed in enforcing the new ban. The French pride themselves for a spirit of rebellion - glamorised by the popular cartoon character Asterix who thumbs his nose at the invading Romans. A 1991 reform that ordered restaurants and bars to set up smoking and non-smoking sections - some of the toughest anti-smoking measures at the time in Europe - is widely ignored. But non-smokers are looking forward to clearing the air.