Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
PUBLIC health officials are calling for a nationwide ban on tobacco use, and a ban of smoking at beaches.
The draft legislation, which is still in the early stages, would ban smoking from bar and restaurant terraces as well as university campuses, schoolyards, work vehicles, and even on schoolyards.
Esteve Fernandez is the regional public health secretary who is pushing for more. She says: “It is not acceptable to expect a child to believe that smoking on the beach is the same as swimming or playing with balls.”
Beaches in Barcelona, the Catalan capital, have been smoke-free since a local law was passed in 2022, but enforcement has been lax with no fines issued in its first year of implementation – even when one poll revealed over 70% of beachgoers had spotted cigarette butts on the sand.
Supporters of the proposed ban argue that prohibition is crucial to public health, with Fernandez stressing the need to ‘denormalise’ smoking in public spaces.
READ MORE The new Spanish anti-smoking legislation will expand smoke-free zones, including terraces of bars and restaurants.
The ban would also reduce the second-hand tobacco smoke exposure, which has been linked to lung cancer. Used cigarette butts, on the other hand, are highly toxic to the environment and contain chemicals that pollute it.
Under current anti-smoking legislation, taking a drag in public places is prohibited. This includes healthcare facilities, schools and public transport as well as indoor hospitality areas at workplaces, sports venues, shops, and workplaces.
Lighting up in healthcare facilities, schools, public transport, indoor hospitality areas, workplaces, sports venues or shops would currently land you in hot water, with fines dished out varying from €30 to €600.
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