The picturesque city of Verona has joined Naples in banning smoking in parks, Mayor Flavio Tosi announced on Tuesday.
Speaking after two days of public debate over a similar move in Naples, Tosi said Verona had decided to follow suit, implementing even tighter restrictions.
While the Neapolitan ban affects only park areas where kids are likely to play, Verona has decided on an all-out veto. ''There are no ifs or buts to this plan, because it's vital that children are completely protected from passive smoking, without relying on tricky and questionable calculations over how far away they are from smokers,'' said Tosi.
The ban, which takes effect on November 27, provides for fines ranging from 25 to 500 euros.
Explaining the decision, Tosi said municipal authorities had received numerous complaints about the fact that smokers tend to hold their cigarettes at the height of children's heads.
''Not only is this harmful to their health, it also sets an appalling example to the most vulnerable age group,'' he said.
The Naples ban, the first of its kind in Italy, is more limited. Smokers are only barred from lighting up in certain sections of public parks, or if in the presence of kids under 12, nursing mothers or pregnant women.
Naples Environment Councillor Gennaro Nasti, who spearheaded the campaign for the ban, said smokers would have a few days to get used to the idea.
Signs have been posted in all 43 enclosed parks in the Naples area but fines will only start being dished out towards the end of the week.
''The real test will be during weekends,'' said Nasti, adding that he hoped the ban would eventually have more wide-ranging effects.
''We want to send out a broader message,'' he said. ''We hope that after walking in the park with their kids, mums and dads will start realizing how serious it is to smoke when youngsters are around, and will avoid lighting up in their cars, for instance''.
The move was welcomed by government figures.
Environment Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio described it as ''an important provision, which combines safeguarding the environment with protecting public health''.
Health Minister Livia Turco said it ''fully embraced the spirit of the government's health campaign''.
However, the response from other quarters was less enthusiastic.
Consumer protection association Telefono Blu dismissed the ban as ''mere propaganda'', pointing out that ''smoking is still permitted in schools and hospitals in Naples''.
The president of environmental group Seme, Franco Visaggio, said smoking in parks was the least of Naples' problems given that ''residents are subjected to massive doses of pollution from public works and gridlocked traffic''.
A quarter of all passive smokers in Italy are under the age of 14, with an estimated 1.5 million toddlers younger than four regularly subjected to adult smoke.
