Smoking ban on the Belgian coast expands

After Ostend and Bredene, De Panne and De Haan will now also (partially) prohibit smoking on their beaches. This news was announced Wednesday morning at a meeting of coastal mayors.

Specifically, there will be a test zone in the municipalities on the beach where smoking is not allowed. The police will also effectively check whether the rules are being observed. The other coastal municipalities are not participating this year, due to disdain for the project, or because they are waiting for the first results of the test municipalities.

“For each municipality, there will be a zone with a smoking ban,” says Steve Vandenberghe (sp.a), mayor of Bredene and chairman of the coastal mayor meeting. “We are also starting an awareness campaign. Large fines for beach-goers who still light a cigarette are not on the agenda, for the time being, ” he added.

After that, the other municipalities assess if they will join the project too.

Jules Johnston
The Brussels Times