Spain plans to extend smoking ban to bar and restaurant terraces
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 García announced that "a concrete draft of the bill" had been completed in an interview with Cadena SER radio.
García added that the prospective ban would also apply to electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco devices, and not just traditional tobacco.
García said she hoped that the ban — which must still be reviewed by the government's council of ministers, as well as the Spanish parliament's lower house — would place Spain "at the forefront of the fight against smoking".
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.
Spain has joined other European countries which have considered introducing similar laws following a recommendation by the European Commission to extend smoking bans to further public areas and include electronic cigarettes.
In September 2024, French authorities announced they were working on a proposal to ban smoking at outdoor restaurant and café terraces.
Italy has mulled a similar law since 2023, but no progress has been made on a nationwide rule, bar a ban in Milan and a proposed temporary testing period in Rome's 1st municipality, which encompasses most of its historic centre.
Outside of the EU, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in August 2024 that the government was looking into more rigid rules on outdoor smoking at pubs and restaurants, in a bid to lower preventable deaths linked to tobacco use.
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.
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