28 April 2008
Non-smokers may now prefer holidaying in Corsica to any other Mediterranean island now that France has introduced a new smoking ban in public spaces.
Almost two months have elapsed since the law came into effect and rates of pollution in cafes, bars and hotels have considerably diminished.
Dr Jean-Baptiste Galeazzi, lung specialist in Bastia, told Corse Matin that from 61.8 per cent of polluting particles present in the air in 2007 in public places, the figure has dropped to 13.4 per cent in January this year.
The new ban has made public spaces more accessible and enjoyable to all visitors to the beauty island, and may encourage other major tourist destinations to make the same move in the future.
Recent research by the French health ministry showed an immediate drop of 15 per cent of all coronary thrombosis and cerebral vascular accidents following the ban in January.
Professor Bertrand Dautzenberg, lung specialist at the Pitie Salpetriere hospital in Paris, who led the research, explained that similar figures were found in other European countries such as Italy, Ireland and Scotland as a result of the smoking bans coming into effect.
