Italy's first "No Smoking" beach.

This decision comes after eight years of testing, as part of the Breathe the Sea Air project. The new measures, expected to be implemented by the end of May, will include designated smoking areas 300 to 400 meters from the sea. Details regarding fines and whether e-cigarettes will be permitted will be announced in May of this year.

Cigarette filters, containing slow-decomposing cellulose acetate, can take up to 10 years to decompose. Statistics show that approximately 5.5 trillion cigarettes are sold worldwide each year, with a large number of filters being discarded into the environment. At Bibione Beach alone, between 2014 and 2018, around 550,000 discarded cigarette filters were collected. This 8-kilometer-long beach attracted 5,317,064 tourists in 2017.

The majority of tourists supported the ban, with 50% supporting the overall ban and over 26% agreeing to it as long as designated smoking areas were in place. The project also received support from the World Health Organization and health authorities across Italy.

"We want visitors to have the opportunity to breathe clean sea air without having to endure pollutants that are harmful to their health," said Pasqualino Codognotto, mayor of San Michele in Bibione.

The scientific research used to support this move is a report from the Smoking Cessation Center at the Italian National Cancer Institute in Milan, which measured air pollution on and around Bibione beach. The report provides specific figures on the level of pollution from tobacco and confirms that passive smokers are affected even within a 10-meter radius.

Places that have implemented similar bans include Queensland, Australia – where smoking is prohibited on all patrolled beaches; similarly, over 300 beaches across the United States and 24 beaches in Thailand, including Patong Beach in Phuket and Bo Phut on Koh Island. Two Welsh beaches that have adopted voluntary bans are Little Haven in Pembrokeshire and Caswell Bay in Swansea.

Previously, in 2005, Italy imposed a ban on smoking in public places, including bars, restaurants, clubs, and offices.

Nga Nguyen