Will vaping in cafes, bars, restaurants and nightclubs soon be as strictly prohibited as smoking “real” cigarettes? The health law promulgated on January 26 officially prohibits the use of e-cigarettes in establishments welcoming children, in "closed means of public transport" and in " closed and covered workplaces for collective use ". A seemingly clear and systematic ban aimed at the 1,5 million French people who vape daily, but who could nevertheless suffer a few exceptions when the implementing decree appears by the end of March.
In the Ministry of Health, the Directorate General for Health ensures that " the government does not plan to ban vaping "In bars and restaurants, following the opinion of the Council of State in October 2013 which had ruled" disproportionately " a " general prohibition »Of e-cigarette use. For health authorities, today it is a question of keeping a narrow crest path: strongly limit the use of e-cigarettes so as not to trivialize the act of smoking, without either totally stigmatizing it because it could be an effective weaning tool, even if for the moment this is still the subject of scientific controversy.
« On the issue of bars and restaurants, the Ministry of Health has a vague position which leaves us to think that it wishes to refer the debate to the establishment of a case law, which would take several years. »Regrets Rémi Parola, the coordinator of Fivape, the structure that brings together e-cigarette professionals.
For some user associations, made up of former heavy smokers who have managed to quit thanks to the vape, returning the vapers to the smoking rooms or the sidewalk with other smokers may encourage their recovery.
Setting up "vaping zones"
Among anti-tobacco associations hostile to e-cigarettes, the law is sufficiently clear and cannot be relaxed by the implementing decree. " Bars and restaurants are collective indoor workplaces, so vaping will be logically prohibited. »Yves analysis 
Martinet, the president of the National Committee against smoking, fierce contempt of the e-cigarette. " Unless you imagine customers without anyone to serve them, there is no ambiguity or escape on this point. "Says Eric Rocheblave, a lawyer specializing in labor law.
To find an intermediate answer, the ministry asked cafetiers and restaurateurs what they would think of the implementation of " vaping areas As there used to be smoking areas. " It is out of the question to set up such zones, answered categorically Laurent Lutse, the national president of the cafes, breweries and night establishments branch of the UMIH, the professional organization of hoteliers. We say no to vaping inside establishments. " In twenty years, we could be accused of having allowed smoking in establishments. "Asked by Le Monde, several managers of Parisian brasseries report that customers vaping indoors are today" very rare ».
"Dislocated"
A sign of the health authorities' trial and error on this issue, the government asked, a few months ago, the High Council of Public Health (HCSP) to update its opinion of May 2014 on the benefit-risk ratio of e- cigarette. "We weigh the advantages for smokers and the disadvantages for young people, and it is not easy to know which way the balance is tipping," comments Professor Roger Salamon, president of the HCSP. The conclusions of the working group are expected by the end of February.
« Why is the High Council seized so late? Will he be able to make recommendations that go against the health law? », Asks Brice Lepoutre, the president of Aiduce, the independent association of electronic cigarette users. In October, 120 doctors, pulmonologists, tobacco specialists, addictologists and oncologists launched an appeal for the promotion of electronic cigarettes to the general public and the medical profession to develop their use. " If the authorities were really confused about this issue, says Mr. Lepoutre, they should have put a moratorium on the health bill before beating down on vaping. »
Source : The world
