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ARCHIVED - New anti-smoking proposal could close more than half of tobacconists in Murcia
The plan would reduce the number of tobacco outlets in the Region from 400 to 150 in eight years
The Region of Murcia looks set to lose more than half of its current tobacco outlets by 2030 if the current proposal launched by the National Committee for the Prevention of Smoking (CNPT) goes ahead, which plans to limit tobacconists to one for every 10,000 inhabitants.
Although the idea has only been put on the table in the last few days and is far from reaching a consensus, it has already irked those in the business, who have called the plan utter “nonsense.”
There are currently around 400 licenced tobacco-selling establishments in the Region, with the most by far located in the bigger cities. Murcia municipality is home to a hundred of these; Cartagena as almost 70; Lorca and Molina have 26 and 9, respectively.
If the controversial proposal is actually put in motion, in just eight years the number of outlets would be culled to just 151 to serve the Region’s million and a half inhabitants.
The issue is highly topical since the Ministry of Finance has just announced that it will authorise the opening of 203 new tobacconists across Spain, with eight earmarked for the Region of Murcia.
The CNPT has slammed the decision, accusing the Spanish Government of going “in the opposite direction to what the health authorities and entities such as the European Commission or the World Health Organization advise in the fight to reduce tobacco consumption."
Moreover, 30 of the new shops will be built on the border with France, cementing Spain’s reputation as the place to travel to for cheap cigarettes and tobacco products.
Almost 130 health, civil rights and consumer associations, both national and international, are forcefully against the granting of new tobacco licences, and an official letter has been sent to President Pedro Sanchez highlighting that allowing more tobacconists will render Spain “unable” to meet its objective of reducing cancer by 2030.
Image: Pixabay
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