Spain: PonteSud – Charissa Swanepoel
Spain is moving forward with plans to extend smoking bans to public spaces, including restaurant terraces and outdoor areas in bars, the southern European country’s health minister announced on Thursday.
More than a year after Spain’s left-wing government coalition passed its anti-smoking plan, Spain’s Health Minister Monica GarcĂa announced that “a concrete draft of the bill” had been completed in an interview with Cadena SER radio.
GarcĂa added that the prospective ban would also apply to electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco devices, and not just traditional tobacco.
School playgrounds, university campuses, company vehicles, as well as outdoor festive events and public transport shelters, are among the other places where the ban would be imposed.
As part of its anti-smoking plan, the Spanish government has also been working on a range of measures, including boosting resources available to individuals who wish to quit smoking, as well as introducing a tax hike on tobacco and similar products.
Opponents of the legislation argue that it would be too excessive and negatively impact small businesses, which could lose customers if the ban were extended to outdoor areas.
