Spain Proposes Outdoor Smoking Ban

Spanish Health Minister Mónica García has unveiled a bill that would ban smoking on the outdoor terraces of bars and restaurants and apply the same restrictions to vaping products, e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches as to traditional cigarettes. Spain is joining countries including the United Kingdom and France in tightening anti-smoking legislation.

The proposal aims to strengthen public health protections following reforms introduced in 2005 and 2010. Tobacco causes about 50,000 deaths a year in Spain. About 30% of cancers are linked to smoking as a risk factor.

In addition to outdoor terraces, the bill would ban smoking and vaping within 15 meters of the entrances to public buildings, schools and hospitals, as well as at playgrounds, swimming pools, sports facilities and in company vehicles. The legislation must still be approved by parliament.

The opposition People's Party has made its support conditional on the creation of designated smoking areas. Representatives of the country's main hospitality industry lobby oppose the proposal, arguing that banning smoking on outdoor terraces could could drive smokers indoors, including into private homes, increasing exposure to secondhand smoke. The restrictions would also apply to herbal inhalation products, hookahs and heated tobacco devices.

(Reuters, Max)