The Spanish government has approved a draft tobacco law that would ban smoking and vaping on bar and restaurant terraces, prohibit minors from using vapes and related products, and end the sale of single-use electronic cigarettes.<\/p>\n
The legislation, which was signed off by the cabinet on Tuesday morning, is intended to \u201creinforce protections on people\u2019s health and to adapt the law to consumption patterns and to the tobacco-product market\u201d, according to the health ministry.<\/p>\n
Under the proposed law, electronic cigarettes, nicotine pouches, herbal products, shisha pipes and devices used to heat tobacco and other substances would be treated the same as conventional cigarettes.<\/p>\n
Their use would be banned in enclosed public spaces and in outdoor areas such as bar terraces, stadiums, sports centres, children\u2019s play areas, bus stops and educational facilities. The legislation also includes a ban on advertising, sponsoring or promoting any of the above products.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is about items whose consumption and market presence has grown substantially over recent years \u2013 especially among young people \u2013 and which, although they don\u2019t always contain nicotine or tobacco, are linked to the act of smoking or inhaling, and which also increase the risk of smoking conventional tobacco,\u201d the ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The health minister, M\u00f3nica Garc\u00eda G\u00f3mez, said the draft law was intended to put Spain<\/a> \u201cback at the forefront of the fight against tobacco\u201d, as it had been when it banned smoking in the workplace in 2005 and smoking in bars and restaurants in 2010.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that tobacco claims the lives of 140 people a day in our country, which is 50,000 people a year,\u201d she said. \u201cI also want to stress that 30% of cancer tumours are linked to the factors that come from tobacco use \u2026 We know that the reality has changed when it comes to tobacco and that there are new devices, such as vapes and tobacco-heating devices and nicotine pouches \u2013 and this law, for the first time, will regulate all these tobacco-related products, and it will regulate them in a clear and forceful way based on the scientific evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the draft legislation does not include a proposal for generic, plain packaging for cigarettes \u2013 an idea that was eventually dropped after reported disagreements within the socialist-led coalition government \u2013 nor for price hikes in a country where a pack of 20 cigarettes costs less than \u20ac6 (\u00a35.20).<\/p>\n Although the health ministry is hoping to amend the bill to include plain packaging as it progresses through parliament, anti-tobacco campaigners have criticised its absence from the proposed law.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government can\u2019t yield to pressure from the tobacco industry and deprive Spanish society of a measure that\u2019s taken root successfully in neighbouring countries and which helps to stop people starting smoking as teenagers,\u201d the National Committee for the Prevention of Smoking<\/a> (CNPT) said in a statement.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to This is Europe<\/p>\n The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans \u2013 from identity to economics to the environment<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cPlain packaging, which is already in use in more than 40 countries, eliminates design and marketing from packets, thus reducing the lure and attractions of tobacco.\u201d<\/p>\n