Any smoker lighting a cigarette on a street in Milan within 10m (33ft) of another person will risk a fine of up to €240 from January 1 thanks to tough new anti-smoking rules introduced by the Italian city.
Milan council said it was cracking down on outdoor public smoking from New Year’s Day to boost health and reduce the smog which afflicts the city, given that tobacco smoke is responsible for 7 per cent of fine dust emissions.
“As a smoker, I will be the first change my habits,” said Elena Grandi, the city’s environment chief, who drew up the rules.
By granting an exception for smokers if they can stay 10m from other people when they light up, the city will compel smokers to spread out along pavements to find space when they emerge from offices and cafés for a cigarette.
The new rules also ban smoking in places “used by the public” — meaning outdoor seating at restaurants and cafés — a clause which prompted protests from Milan’s businesses.
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“If you stop people smoking while they are sitting at tables outside cafés they will move into the streets, creating difficulties,” said Carlo Squeri, head of the bar and restaurant association Epam.
“I don’t know what we will do — we have customers who want to sit outside in the cold in order to smoke,” Riccardo Veneziano, a Milan restaurant chef, told Corriere della Sera.
Last month the UK government dropped plans to ban smoking outside pubs and restaurants to avoid damaging revenues.
Milan’s rules come close to those in force in Mexico where there is a total ban on smoking in public spaces with no exceptions. The Italian city banned smoking at bus stops, stadiums and cemeteries in 2021.
Since then, however, Milan’s police have issued only 14 fines for violations, and a city official said there would also be a gentle approach to enforcing the tougher rules to start with.
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“I don’t think we will see police officers out with tape measures to check if smokers are keeping their distance,” the official said.
A similarly tolerant approach has been taken in Turin, where a public space smoking ban was introduced in May — albeit with 5m, not 10m, of space required between smokers and everyone else.
No fines of €100 for violations have yet been handed out by police, said Marco Porcedda, a Turin city official.
“It’s possible someone could deliberately approach a smoker on the street to get within 5m of them and get them fined, but it hasn’t happened yet,” he said.
