It has been 20 years since Law No. 3 of January 16, 2003, Article 51 of which instituted Italy’s first ban on smoking in enclosed premises open to the public.
The law was met with strong resistance at its inception, however went on to change the country's customs, and in part, its social etiquette.
Proposed and strongly supported by then Health Minister Girolamo Sirchia, the rule, which came into full force on January 10, 2005, contributed to a significant reduction in the number of smokers in Italy over the past two decades.
This trend, however, has recently been reversed: if between 2003 and 2020 the share of smokers in the population aged 15 years and over had dropped from 33 per cent to 22 per cent, between 2020 and 2022 there has been a leap forward, bringing the share to 24.2 per cent.
In absolute terms, this is 800,000 more smokers than the 11.6 million recorded two years ago.
“Law No. 3, 2003, was a great battle, which Italian citizens have understood. So much so that over the years they have defended the measure against the constant attacks of the smoking multinationals more than politicians have," former minister Sirchia said.
“People have understood that this is a measure that does not look to the specific interests of anyone, as is often the case, but to those of the population, their health and their lives,” he continued.
For Sirchia, however, more effort is needed today from the institutions to push forward anti-smoking agendas. He also stresses that more attention needs to be paid to the further challenge that has emerged in recent years: that of the products that multinationals have invented to differentiate themselves and win back the market, such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products.
