Spain's cabinet on Tuesday approved a draft law that would prohibit smoking and vaping in a wide range of outdoor public spaces, a move that government officials said is aimed at protecting public health and cutting tobacco-related deaths.
The draft bill would extend restrictions to restaurant and bar terraces, beaches, bus stops and stadiums and bring a range of products — including electronic cigarettes, nicotine pouches, shisha and tobacco-heating devices — under the same rules as conventional cigarettes. The measure now requires parliamentary approval before becoming law.
Health Minister Monica Garcia said the government would “always put public health ahead of private interests” and argued that the right to breathe clean air justified the restrictions, according to Reuters. The Health Ministry said the proposal also targets advertising for smoking-related products and seeks to reduce use among young people.
Officials pointed to the country’s tobacco burden in explaining the plan. The ministry cited data showing roughly 140 people die every day in Spain from tobacco-related causes — about 50,000 deaths a year — and said about 30% of cancer tumours are linked to factors associated with tobacco use, figures the minister highlighted in comments reported by The Guardian.
Indoor smoking has been banned in Spain since 2011. The government said the new draft is designed to address changes in the market, including rising use of vapes and new nicotine-delivery devices that do not always contain tobacco but are associated with the act of smoking and could increase the risk of conventional tobacco use.
The proposal has drawn criticism from parts of Spain’s hospitality sector, where outdoor terraces are a prominent feature of social life and trade associations warned of potential damage to businesses that rely on outside seating. The draft law would also tighten age-related controls to prevent minors from using such products, the ministry said.
The Spanish plan follows regulatory moves elsewhere in Europe. France introduced related measures on July 1 that sought to curb youth exposure to some smoking devices; when that rule was announced, media reports said noncompliance could result in a fine of about £114. French authorities did not, however, include outdoor terraces or electronic cigarettes in the same way Spain’s draft does, underscoring differences among national approaches.
If parliament approves the bill, Spain’s restrictions would be among the most far-reaching in Europe for outdoor public spaces. Health officials said they were also considering additional steps such as plain packaging for tobacco products, though such measures would require separate legislative action.
Parliamentary debate is expected in the coming weeks, where lawmakers will weigh public-health arguments against business and personal-freedom concerns before any final vote.