In Milan, smoking will soon not be a habit: the Italian capital of fashion and finance has decided to ban cigarettesoutdoors from tomorrow, January 1. According to the “air quality ordinance” adopted in 2020 by Milan , “as of January 1, 2025, the smoking ban extends to all public places, including streets.” A ban that does not please Morgan Isak, a smoker who spoke to AFPTV: “The new law is excessive,” said the 46-year-old plumber.
“I agree not to smoke inside or near an elderly person or a child, but to ban smoking outside somehow restricts individual freedom, in my opinion it is excessive,” he explained. In contrast, Stelina Maria Rita Lombardo, a 56-year-old Milanese woman who works in a school, said she “fully agrees” with the new measure. She does not smoke and believes that “smoking creates too much pollution at a time when we are suffering a lot from climate change.
” A single exemption is provided in the law: “secluded places where it is possible to maintain a distance of at least 10 metres from other people”, which in a city as densely populated as Milan is considered impossible, except perhaps at night. The measure does not apply to e-cigarettes. The measure does not apply to e-cigarettes.
In case of non-compliance with the ban, the offender will face a fine ranging between 40 and 240 euros. In the capital of Lombardy, smoking was already banned from 2021 in public places with greenery, unless a safety distance of 10 metres could be mainta.
