French companies and schools are bringing in kissing bans to try to stop the spread of swine flu.
The peck on the cheek known as "la bise" - a traditional greeting in France - has been outlawed by large firms like insurance giant Axa, which has told employees to salute each other with a wave of the hand rather than a kiss or handshake.
Schools in the town of Guilvinec, in Brittany, western France, were the first to introduce a bise ban for teachers and students.
Mayor Helene Tanguy 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."
Instead of kissing, some teachers have introduced "bise boxes", in which pupils slip heart-shaped greetings which are then passed around.
A nationwide kissing ban has not yet been enforced by law in France รข€" but it could be part of a string of emergency measures set to be introduced this winter.
Fear of the H1N1 virus will stop Neapolitans from performing the traditional ritual of kissing a vial of their patron Saint Gennaro's blood when the city's annual festival begins later this month.
Via: Yahoo! News
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