MADRID – The Ministry of Health of Spain has a bill ready for a blanket smoking ban on terraces in Spain. The smoking ban serves two purposes: to discourage smoking as a health risk and to further limit the transmission of Covid-19.
The Spanish news agency EFE confirmed the existence of the bill to news site La Sexta. The smoking ban as described in the proposal, will apply to all terraces of hotels and restaurants throughout Spain. The Ministry believes they should go even further to discourage smoking as a health risk. Smoking also plays a role in the transmission of Covid-19. And as such is a further reason to abolish this habit.
Spain previously restricted smoking on the patio
Smoking in the street or on the terrace in the open air was already banned by the government of Spain in the summer of 2020 when the distance of two metres between poeple could not be guaranteed. This was part of the measures against the spread of the corona virus. Even now, the Spanish government appears to be using the corona pandemic to move to a blanket smoking ban on terraces in Spain.
The Ministry of Health presented this proposal during last Thursday´s health council. Spanish news site El Confidencial wrote on Thursday that several autonomous regions in Spain have responded positively to the proposal.
Total smoking ban already in force in several Spanish regions
However, this measure is not new to Spanish standards. At the moment, there are six autonomous regions that have already established smoking bans, regardless of the distance between people. This is the case in the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Valencia, Asturias and Aragon. However, despite the current smoking ban on terraces in these regions, there are still many catering establishments that do not comply.
