Spain’s minority leftist government has introduced a bill on Tuesday to ban smoking and vaping at outdoor venues including beaches, bar and restaurant terraces, bus stops and stadiums, citing their increasing popularity with young people.
“We’ll always put public health ahead of private interests,” Health Minister Monica Garcia told reporters. “Everyone has a right to breathe clean air … and live longer and better lives.”
The hospitality sector has criticised the bill, as Spain’s outdoor terraces, used throughout the year, are popular with smokers. Indoor smoking has been banned since 2011.
The significant rule change would affect the lifestyle of many travellers visiting the summer holiday hotspot that welcomed 5.7 million British arrivals in 2023.
Duty-free and cheaper tobacco prices alone have been known for drawing in UK holidaymakers to weeks in Tenerife, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria.
Additional tightening of restrictions and regulations on the sales and advertising of vapes and electric cigarettes are included in the bid to control tobacco consumption.
The bill follows similar legislation implemented in France in July, although Spain’s northern neighbour exempted cafe terraces and e-cigarettes from its ban.
The new bill, which still requires parliamentary approval and can be amended, comes as increasingly smoke-averse European countries are cracking down on tobacco and tobacco-like products. However, the continent still has the highest global smoking rates at around a quarter of adults.
The government has had little success approving legislation in a heavily-fragmented parliament lately.
Over 50,000 people die each year in Spain from smoking-related causes, about 137 deaths per day, health ministry data shows.
The final bill text approved by the Spanish cabinet does not impose plain tobacco packaging (the removal of all branding from cigarette packs), a policy already implemented in 25 countries, according to the World Health Organization.
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