Smoke-free Piazza? Milan's outdoor smoking ban faces mixed reaction

Yahoo

21-04-2025

A stroll through Milan's iconic Piazza del Duomo looks very different today than it did two decades ago.
Back then, street cafés bustled with locals clutching cigarettes and newspapers. Smokers hurried across the square, and even tourists puffed away as they admired the cathedral.
Fast forward to present day: the ashtrays are gone, smartphones have taken over and only a pair of elderly men quietly smoke near a street lamp hiding their cigarettes in case police approach.
Fines of up to €240
Milan has enforced Italy's strictest smoking ban - one of the toughest in Europe.
Smoking is now prohibited both indoors and outdoors unless you're at least 10 metres away from others. Fines can reach up to €240.
The ban is part of an effort to combat Milan's chronic air pollution, among the worst in Italy. Authorities say cigarettes contribute around 7% of the region's particulate emissions.
Other cities, including Rome, are considering similar measures. Turin already enforces a "courtesy distance" rule, requiring smokers to get permission from nearby children or pregnant women.
Public divided, critics push back
The new rules have sparked a mix of support and criticism. In Milan, many are happy that they no longer have to inhale other people's smoke in playgrounds, at bus stops or outside restaurants.
But there are also many dissenting voices - from smokers, of course but also of a more fundamental nature.
Milan's conservative daily newspaper Il Giornale wrote: "The real problem is not the cigarette, but the loss of freedom."
"In a world that tries to control every aspect of our lives, where we are afraid of everything and everyone, smoking outdoors is not only a gesture of the social power of tobacco, but also an act of rebellion against conformity," it said.
In protest of the new law, some people placed a giant cigarette in the mouth of a statue of a former mayor, while leaflets mocking the current mayor, Giuseppe Sala, read: "You're not our dad. Let us smoke."
Smoking habits shift - but enforcement lags
Since Italy introduced its indoor smoking ban in 2005, the number of smokers has steadily declined. Today, only about 19% of Italians smoke, according to official data.
Yet in Milan, enforcement of the outdoor ban is still patchy. Cigarette butts are scattered across pavements, including in the upscale Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II near the cathedral.
Initially, nobody believed that Italians would abide by it. Cigarettes used to be as much a part of the end of a meal as an espresso.
It is now completely normal that cigarettes are no longer permitted in cafés, restaurants, schools and universities.
However, it would be quite wrong to assume that everyone in Milan is now adhering to the outdoor ban.
Restaurant staff have positioned themselves at the entrance of a café for a cigarette break. "The more they forbid it, the more we do it," says Alessia, one of the two waitresses puffing outside.
Grace period for tourists
So far, only a handful of fines have been issued, and tourists unfamiliar with the rules are generally let off with a warning.
At lunchtime and in the evening, groups of smokers can be spotted outside many restaurants. Hardly anyone bothers to hide it - especially as electronic cigarettes are still permitted under the city ordinance.
But with warmer weather approaching, city officials plan to crack down. Deputy Mayor Anna Scavuzzo warned: "Italians aren't Scandinavians who obey laws just because they exist."
Police officer prefers to chase pickpockets
However, the city council should not necessarily rely heavily on the police to crack down on rule breakers as not every officer is keen to enforce the ban.
One uniformed officer standing in front of the cathedral square watches two smokers quietly without doing anything.
"We've got enough to deal with - like pickpockets," he shrugs.