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From next year, there will be an open-air smoking ban in amusement parks, zoos, petting zoos, playgrounds and sports grounds. This is stated in a bill by Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit), which was given the green light in Parliament on Thursday. Smoking at the entrance to schools or hospitals will soon no longer be allowed.
The legal text received unanimous support from the hemisphere, with the exception of abstentions from Vlaams Belang. These are not the first interventions that have been implemented under the De Croo government in the fight against tobacco. Consider the significantly higher prices and the elimination of sales points, to name just a few. Now there is an additional smoking ban in a number of public places in the open air. This mainly concerns places where many children come. There will also be a smoking ban on sports grounds and associated spectator areas.
There will also be a ban on smoking at the entrance and exit of healthcare, reception and educational institutions, but also of public libraries. This should protect people who go indoors or outdoors against passive smoking, but also promote the denormalization of smoking. We work with a perimeter of ten meters within which the ban applies. The smoke-free zone must be clearly signposted at the entrances of the institutions involved.