Milan, the fashion and financial heart of Italy, has enforced the country’s most stringent smoking regulations, beginning January 1, 2025. Anyone caught smoking in public spaces, including streets, parks and outdoor areas, will face fines ranging from €40 to €240 (around Rs 3,500 to Rs 21,000).
The ban is part of a broader effort to combat pollution in the city, which has long struggled with high levels of air contamination.
According to AFP, in 2020, Milan’s city council introduced a sweeping air quality law that imposed increasingly stringent smoking restrictions. By 2021, smoking was prohibited in parks, playgrounds, bus stops and sports facilities. Now, the newest law, which came into effect on January 1, extends the ban to all public spaces, including streets, though exceptions are made for isolated areas where a 10-metre distance from others can be maintained.
Milan, known for its long-standing association with fashion and style, is the first city in Italy to introduce such sweeping outdoor restrictions. The ban, however, excludes vapes and electronic cigarettes.
While the ban officially took effect on New Year’s Day, Milan’s police confirmed that no arrests were made, despite the timing of the law coinciding with New Year’s celebrations, reported CNN. Lino Stoppani, president of Fipe Confcommercio, the federation representing public businesses, expressed concerns over the practical implications of the ban. “Without adequate controls, the ordinances risk remaining measures aimed more at raising awareness than at solving,” Stoppani was quoted as saying by CNN.
Stoppani further criticised the law’s lack of clarity and enforcement mechanisms. “This is a provision with several critical issues. For us it is a provision that will not have the desired effects, it has some regulatory weaknesses, and it probably also creates a bit of confusion in its application, but we are not making a battle out of it.”
The new regulations will also impact visitors attending the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in 2026.
Residents of Milan have had mixed reactions to the new smoking ban. Myrian Illiano, a sales clerk, voiced her concerns, telling AFP, “I think this measure is excessive. As long as we are talking about an indoor place, I agree. Because (smoking) can be bothersome and it is not healthy. But if we are talking about an open place, I don’t see why one should be restricted.”
Content creator Chiara Ciuffini expressed support for the ban, saying, “I agree because I am a sporty, non-smoking person. I hope smokers can also understand the need of nonsmokers who want to breathe cleaner air.”
