Ski resort in France shows the way Will smoking on the slopes soon be a thing of the past in Switzerland?
In the French ski resort of Les Gets, smoking has been banned on the ski slopes for two years. What is the situation in Switzerland?
No time? blue News summarizes for you:
- Cigarettes are bad for the environment and for people.
- That's why the French ski resort of Les Gets, between Mont Blanc and Lake Geneva, introduced a smoking ban on the ski slopes two years ago.
- What is the situation on the Swiss ski slopes?
Two years ago, the French ski resort of Les Gets decided to impose a smoking ban on all slopes. It is still the first in Europe.
Smoking in Les Gets is still permitted in five special areas. There are ashtrays and litter bins. The reason for the smoking ban: in spring, volunteers collected litter on the slopes in one day and collected over 3,000 cigarette butts. These are not at all good for nature or for people.
A single cigarette with its mix of toxins can contaminate 40 to 60 liters of clean groundwater and have a negative impact on plant growth.
The Lunge-Zurich association also writes: "According to a WHO study from 2017, cigarette butts make up the largest proportion of waste collected in cities and on beaches worldwide. Chemicals and small particles from cigarettes have even been found in the uninhabited Arctic."
Control could be difficult
A smoking ban on the Swiss ski slopes has not yet been implemented. But what will it look like in the coming winter season?
When asked by blue News, the Flims-Laax mountain railroads wrote: "There are currently no plans for a comprehensive smoking ban. In the past, however, a prevention measure was implemented with regard to waste. Thousands of pocket ashtrays have been given away so that cigarette butts do not end up on the slopes, but are transported to the next bucket in the pocket ashtray."
According to the Flims-Laax mountain railroads, it is not the implementation of a smoking ban that is difficult, but the control throughout the area and by whom and in what form this should be carried out.
Major clean-up campaigns take place every year
In order to clean up the slopes, a so-called clean-up day is held every spring in the Flims ski area: "Volunteers, local sports clubs and employees of the mountain railroads work together to clear the mountain of litter, including cigarette butts."
How many cigarette butts are collected is not counted. But: "Cigarette butts are not a bigger problem than other types of waste," it continues.
No smoking complaints received so far
There are also no plans to ban smoking on the slopes in the Central Swiss ski resort of Engelberg. "We have a smoking ban in the buildings and on the platforms," wrote Bergbahnen Engelberg-Titlis on request. However: "We specifically do not advertise tobacco and alcohol in the ski area."
The Engelberg-Titlis mountain railroads have never received any complaints from guests about smoking on the slopes. The clean-up days also take place here, but in summer.
The same applies to Zermatt Bergbahnen. When asked, they also write that there are no plans to ban smoking on the slopes, but that a major clean-up campaign takes place every year.