Rail stations have crumbled as bastions for Italy's smokers after an in-station smoking ban took effect Friday.
Only trackside smoking will be allowed as the country's successful drive against smoking in public places went one step further.
From now on, anyone caught lighting up in ticket halls, vestibules and lobbies will be slapped with hefty fines, Health Minister Livia Turco said.
But there will still be the familiar sight of gasping tobacco addicts jumping off long-distance trains to take their first desperate drag, or commuters pulling on their last ciggies alongside delayed departures.
"We have set up a slew of ash trays alongside tracks, which will henceforth be the only places smoking will be permitted in stations", Turco said.
"There will also be a line of special bins outside each station for cigarettes to be thrown away".
"We were forced to act out of rising concern for the health of waiting passengers in places that had become smoking outposts," Turco stressed, revealing that the ministry had been swamped with complaints about passive smoking in station areas.
