Spain plans to ban smoking on terraces

Spain will ban smoking on outdoor terraces of bars and restaurants, expand smoke-free zones and regulate electronic cigarettes in the same way as classic ones, Health Minister Monica Garcia announced today.

European countries like the UK and France are increasingly tightening rules on smoking and vaping, presenting smoking as both a threat to public health and a burden on national health budgets and productivity.

The draft law still needs to be approved by the politically divided parliament. The main opposition People's Party has conditioned its support on the creation of special smoking areas and guarantees that the hospitality sector will not suffer damage.

Garcia said the plan aims to put Spain back among the leaders in tobacco control, after previous reforms banned smoking in indoor workplaces in 2005 and in bars and restaurants in 2010.

"Times have changed, new products have emerged and there are new public health needs," Garcia told reporters.

Tobacco in Spain claims around 140 lives a day, or 50.000 a year, while 30 percent of cancer cases are linked to smoking as a risk factor, the minister said.

Smoking on outdoor terraces was temporarily restricted during the Covid-19 pandemic, but these measures were later lifted.

Spain's main restaurant association said it opposed the measure, saying it "would have a very limited effect, as it could push smokers into enclosed spaces, such as private homes, thereby increasing exposure to second-hand smoke."

The new rules would also ban smoking within 15 meters of the entrance to public buildings, children's playgrounds, health and educational institutions, as well as in official vehicles, sports facilities, universities, public swimming pools and places where public events are held.

For the first time, electronic cigarettes, nicotine pouches, herbal inhalation products, hookahs and tobacco heating devices would be subject to the same restrictions as traditional cigarettes, regardless of whether they contain nicotine.