EURO NEWS: Spain's new regulations would also cover the use of electronic cigarettes and vapes as the country moves to impose stricter controls on tobacco marketing and product distribution in a bid to boost public health.
Spain's coalition government has approved a draft bill restricting smoking in public places that could have a significant impact on travellers.
The proposed legislation will ban smoking and vaping in outdoor spaces, including sports venues, beaches, restaurant and bar terraces.
"We'll always put public health ahead of private interests," Spain’s health minister Monica Garcia told reporters. "Everyone has a right to breathe clean air and live longer and better lives."
The proposed measures have drawn opposition from restaurant and bar owners, who say Spain's year-round outdoor dining culture is boosted significantly by customers who smoke.
Smoking indoors has been prohibited since 2011. » | Rebecca Ann-Hughes | Thursday, September 11, 2025
What is there about socialist governments that they always want to curtail people’s rights and freedoms? Is there something in socialists’ DNA, or something? Each European nation seems to be losing all sense of la dolce vita ! — © Mark Alexander
