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Date Published: 26/09/2022
ARCHIVED - Barcelona to ban smoking on outdoor bar terraces
The government will also propose a series of restrictions on smoking throughout Spain
As part of the national fight against tobacco, Catalonia will soon pass a law that bans smoking on bar and restaurant terraces, at bus stops and close to schools. At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, social distances were applied to smokers to stem the spread of the virus, but today only a handful of communities in Spain maintain any kind of restrictions: in Alicante, smoking is still prohibited on the outdoor patios of bars.
Catalonia’s overall aim is to increase the number of smoke-free spaces in its towns and cities, which is in line with the Ministry of Health’s ‘Comprehensive Plan Against Smoking’. This has been stalled on several occasions but by the end of the year, the regulations are expected to propose banning smoking in a number of public places nationally, including pub beer gardens.
According to the regional health minister, the number of smokers has stagnated at around 23% of the population since 2017 and the new measure will hopefully give this figure a push in the right direction. Moreover, research suggests that lower-income individuals are far more likely to smoke, and so the authorities will offer free nicotine replacement therapy to those who earn less than 18,000 euros annually.
Earlier this year, Barcelona joined the ranks of Spain’s smoke-free beaches by banning cigarettes along the entirety of the city’s coastline, and rule-breakers will be issued with considerable fines. At the moment, smokers are still permitted to light up on the terraces of beach bars, but this too looks set to change.
Image: Pixabay
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