Restaurants and bars can divide their establishments into smoking and non-smoking sections or declare the entire establishment non-smoking. Those who choose to designate smoking areas must allocate less than half their public area as the smoking section.

Not everyone in Cagli is happy about this change. Eros Santini, the owner of Antica Tobaccheria, says, “Smoking is very rooted in Italy. It’s a part of our culture.”

But many large cities in Italy have already begun to ban smoking. In Venice, for example, signs prohibit smoking in the water-taxi docks, train stations, and some restaurants.

In a town like Cagli, however, local merchants say it will be more difficult. A lot of people are set in their ways.

A radiological technician at the Cagli ospedale, or hospital, who identified himself as Signore Theo, can be seen smoking outside the hospital during his breaks. He, a late bloomer in Italian terms, waited until he was 20 to start smoking.

“I am the first to know if you have a smoking-related illness, but io fumo [I still smoke]. It’s a habit,” he says.

Some Cagliesi have expressed skepticism that the law will even be enforced. Francesca Coratti, an 18-year-old accounting student, started smoking when she was 12 and is against the new law. She is not, however, worried. When asked if she thought the law would be enforced, she said, “How could they? We’re so small and so far away. Who will care?”

It is possible that people in Cagli will care. With fines ranging from 25 euro to 100 euro for smoking in public, it will be hard to pretend the law does not exist, especially when those fines double if la sigarette is lit around children or pregnant women.

Owners of stores and restaurants said they are likely to comply. The fines for failing to implement the law in their establishments range from 200 euro-2000 euro—even more if there is no ventilation.

The only choice Franco Pazzaglia has is to make his whole restaurant non-smoking. La Lanterna, his family-owned restaurant, has a dining room that is about 6 feet by 20 feet. At one end of the room pizzas are made fresh in the view of all nine tables. An antique bar occupies the opposite end.

“There’s no way to split it up; it is too small,” he said. If he were to split the restaurant up, he would probably make the change right now and save time. Since he must ban smoking entirely, however, he will wait until the last possible day to switch over.

His restaurant attracts many regulars, including the man in the khaki suit che mangia solo [who eats alone] every night and families of three generations. Pazzaglia said that La Lanterna has both regulars who smoke and regulars who have expressed dislike of smoking. But all his customers are loyal, and he said he does not expect any problems once the law takes effect.

“People should be ready for the law, and everyone is aware of the high fines, so they will be respectful,” he said. In fact La Lanterna has already had several test runs. Every year around Easter when it gets busy, Pazzaglia puts out signs reading, “Please do not smoke.” He has never had a problem with someone not respecting his wishes.

Pazzaglia himself only smokes for two months every year when he goes on vacation. He has been doing this for 15 years and has yet to get addicted to his Marlboros.

He said it doesn’t bother him personally to be around people che fumano [who are smoking] when he is eating. He does, however, support the new ban on smoking.

Pazzaglia believes people can wait one to two hours to have una sigarette while they eat. This is especially true in small restaurants like his. “It is only fair for our non-smoking customers,” he says.

Photo's by: Jacqueline Curcio

Video by: Cheryl Trovato

Web design by: Cook Alciati