Almost half of schools and two in three sports grounds are not yet in order with smoking ban
© Karel Hemerijckx
Smoking a cigarette while you are waiting for your child at the school gate? You can get a fine for this soon. So far, it was only checked whether the signage is in order. Almost half of the schools still have work.
In a radius of at least ten meters around the school gate, it has been forbidden to smoke since 1 January. But fines have not yet been handed out: the FPS Public Health Inspectorate says in the future in the future.
However, the FPS inspectors already carried out checks on the signage. And in 46 percent of the cases it appears to be not yet. The perimeter has also been applied since at the beginning of this year around, for example, residential care centers, hospitals and public libraries. A total of 472 checks were carried out. « We give a warning when the signage is not in order and send an overview of the results to the municipalities, » says Annelies Wynant of the FPS Health.
An example of the signage.
There were also 251 checks in zoos and amusement parks, playgrounds and children’s farms, and in Sportstadions. They have been mandatory since January 1, and there too, only a little more than half was in order.
In the stadiums of the Pro League, the smoking ban has been in place since 2021, but now it applies to all sports grounds in the open air. « We get the most complaints about football stages and work together with the Pro League to tackle that, » says Wynant. Until now, no smokers have been fined there and the focus was on checking the signage.
Defined smoke zones
Smoking zones are still allowed at those locations. But they must be well defined. They should not be in the passage and must stay out of sight. Moreover, they must also be well indicated so that you do not accidentally end up there. From 22 specific inspections, 59 percent of the smoking zones were not in order. The problem is greatest on the sports grounds: 69 percent of the smoke zones do not meet the rules.
Once the checks on smoking come, you risk a fine between 208 and 8,000 euros.
