Christian Estrosi announced on November 13, following a meeting with the League Against Cancer 06, that all public beaches in Nice will be designated as “Smoke-free Beaches” by the summer of 2024.
Zero cigarette butt goal on the beaches of Nice. A year and a half before hosting the United Nations Ocean Summit in Nice, and in the midst of the “Tobacco-Free Month” campaign, Christian Estrosi is accelerating his environmental and public health policy, partially to present an “exemplary” image to the world in 2025.
“I have renewed the City’s support for the League and expressed my ambition to go even further in prevention and patient support,” declared the mayor following his exchange with Maître Laurence Cressin-Bensa, the new President of the League Against Cancer of the Alpes-Maritimes.
Christian Estrosi has decided to make all public beaches in Nice smoke-free by next summer. For him, banning cigarettes has a dual purpose: “to protect the health of individuals in Nice and preserve the environment.” He reveals that 150 million cigarette butts are discarded onto the streets of Nice each year.
Cigarette butts are considered to be the most harmful pollutant to the oceans, according to a study published by NBC News on August 27, 2018. A single cigarette butt can alone pollute up to 500 liters of water. The impact of smoking on health is equally destructive. On average, one in two regular smokers dies from smoking, according to French Public Health.
New measures to support patients
In partnership with the League Against Cancer, the city of Nice announces the implementation of new measures for the benefit of cancer or respiratory disease patients: job reintegration program for City staff, the CCAS of Nice, and the Metropolis with Lig’Entreprises, promotion of the League Against Cancer’s preventive actions during Nice sporting events (Prom’Classic, Half-Marathon…) and continuation of our support for glass recycling.
“The Alpes-Maritimes Committee of the League Against Cancer thanks Christian Estrosi for his commitment and unconditional support for our common fight against this terrible disease and congratulates him on his initiative to make our iconic Promenade des Anglais 100% smoke-free by the summer of 2024,” declares Maître Laurence Cressin-Bensa.
Nice currently has five smoke-free beaches identifiable by the presence of signs and flags: Centenaire Beach, Voilier Beach, Bains Militaires Beach, Lenval, and Sainte-Hélène Beaches. In 2012, it became the first city in France to be labeled “Smoke-free Beach” by the League Against Cancer.
