Walking down the streets of Paris, it is hard not to notice the ubiquity of cigarettes. Old men, fashionable women, even children walk down the street puffing away on Gauloises. And now, as reported in a recent New York Times article, France has joined the fight against smoking by banning it inside of all public places. Everyone from Coco Chanel (above) to Jean Cocteau, Brigitte Bardot and Albert Camus were avid smokers, making some French worry about a post-smoking brain drain:

At Le Musée du Fumeur (The Museum of Smoking), there is concern that the French may not be able to think as well without their cigarettes. "All our great writers seem to have been smokers," said Michka Seeliger-Chatelein, one of the curators.

Yes, France has a Museum of Smoking. Although perhaps not good for creativity, the ban will be good for health, as 70,000 people die every year in France from smoking-related illnesses and secondhand smoke.

So, all you fashionistas dreaming of smoking in a Montparnasse cafe come Paris fashion week, you might want to bring a pack of gum instead.