Kissing banned in France to keep swine flu at bay

In an effort to deal with the second round of swine flu infections which winter may bring in its wake, the country is gearing up to discard the custom of kissing on the cheek to demonstrate their affection.

The Health Ministry, business organizations, schools and government departments are discouraging the citizens to indulge in the cultural ritual to curb the virus that spreads rapidly through human transmission.

A health ministry spokesman said, “We recommend that because of the pandemic people avoid close contact, which includes kissing and shaking hands constantly, especially with sick people.”

Three-foot buffer zone recommended
A new strategy adopted by the insurance giant AXA to deal with public health emergencies, is to insist that the employees of the company salute each other, and try and avoid direct contact like kissing or shaking hands.

Most business houses are recommending that people maintain a distance of “three-foot buffer zone” between each other as a precautionary measure, or wear a mask.

"It might seem excessive, but given that it [the virus] might knock out half the population, fear of others will set in and people will say if 'I kiss my colleague, I might catch it,” states Frederic Chapelle, a psychiatrist.

Since exchanging kisses is deeply ingrained in the social etiquette of the French, doing away with this cultural tradition is not easy.

“The rule is that there should be no kisses at all,” said company director Guy Girard, who runs an information technology company in Paris. “It will take some getting used to, as French people kiss all the time - normally on both cheeks and up to four times on a first meeting. My staff are slowly getting used to the ban, but it is easily forgotten.”

‘Bise’ ban first implemented in Brittany
The ban on cheek-to-cheek kissing was initiated in the town of Guilvenec in Brittany, where the mayor Helene Tanguy asked the teachers and students to refrain from kissing.

The mayor said: "I asked the children not to kiss anymore. I felt that the protections sought — to wash hands regularly, not throw used handkerchiefs around, and not cough any old way — had no meaning if we let the kids keep kissing. It’s just part of an effort to adopt new and more sanitary habits.”

As a playful compensation for the kisses exchanged, some teachers have introduced 'bise boxes' into which students slip heart shaped greetings that are passed round as tokens of affection.

The ban is not binding and is simply a recommendation, but it could be enforced in case of an emergency like a winter H1N1 pandemic.

Mainland France has so far reported only three H1N1 fatalities with another 12 in its overseas departments and territories.