Does Spain's proposed smoking law go too far?

On September 9, the Spanish government approved a new anti-tobacco draft law, expanding outdoor smoke-free zones, banning more forms of advertising, and extending regulations to include vapes and heated tobacco products.

Health experts and cancer charities have broadly welcomed the draft bill, while arguing it should go even further, and include measures such as plain packaging or higher taxes. 

The hospitality sector, on the other hand, have fiercely criticized the proposals, in particular the most talked-about measure: a ban on smoking – and vaping – on bar, cafe and restaurant terraces.

Terrace smoking ban

It's been almost 20 years since smoking was banned in indoor workplaces in Spain, and over a decade since an amendment banned smoking areas in cafes, bars and restaurants.

The time is right for new regulations, the Spanish government argues, citing "important changes in consumer habits, in the structure of the tobacco market, and in public health."

Catalonia's Secretary of Public Health is backing the new Spanish tobacco control law, saying its aims are twofold: to "protect non-smokers from secondhand smoke" and "to try to help smokers to quit in the future by limiting the places where they can smoke."

"The idea is to make all the hospitality sector smoke free," Esteve Fernández tells Catalan News.

"But terraces is just a part of the picture," he points out, mentioning places like festivals, markets, semi-open malls, and Catalonia's famous human towers – castells – as examples of busy outdoor gatherings, often with children, which could be made smoke-free without causing much inconvenience.

Impact on health

"Smoking is the most preventable cause of disease, not only in Catalonia, but worldwide," explains Fernández, who has dedicated his career as a doctor, researcher, and academic to fighting tobacco use.

"Half of the diseases that we see in the health system are due or attributable to tobacco," he adds. 

Dr. Laureano Molins, president of the Association Against Cancer in Barcelona, tells Catalan News that "85% of patients with lung cancer are smokers or ex-smokers."

But while lung cancer is the most well-known disease caused by smoking, both Fernández and Molins highlight that it’s linked to several other forms of cancer – including oral, bladder, and cervical cancer – as well as a range of other serious conditions such as cardiovascular disease, emphysema, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The bottom line, Fernández explains, is that "if we could eliminate smoking in our society, we'd be talking about 50,000 fewer deaths per year in Spain, and around 15,000 in Catalonia."

Vaping

While the smoking ban on terraces has attracted the most controversy, Molins believes the most crucial aspect of the legislation is its inclusion of new tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes.

"There is a strategy by the tobacco companies to bring those products to young people," Molins says, adding that it’s crucial to limit the sale of vapes and similar items to tobacco shops rather than supermarkets.

"The companies are also sponsoring music festivals, and that's something that we have to forbid for sure."

The draft law introduces further restrictions on the promotion of tobacco and related products, banning all forms of advertising, direct or indirect, including all forms of commercial communication, from print, audiovisual, and digital media to social networks, product samples, and promotional discounts.

What's more, while tobacco use in general is declining, e-cigarette use is on the rise, especially among teenagers. The preamble to the draft law notes that usage among 14 to 18-year-olds rose from 15% in 2019 to 26% in 2023.

It's a worrying trend, according to Fernández, as "young people start with vaping and then move to tobacco because they become addicted to nicotine and the most effective way to deliver nicotine is cigarettes."

Opposition

Smoking laws often pit health priorities against economic interests, even within government, For example, Spain's finance ministry collects over €7 billion annually from tobacco taxes.

While the cabinet has managed to agree on and approve the draft bill, it has been met with stern opposition from various sectors.

The Mesa del Tabaco, the Spanish tobacco industry association, accused Spain's health ministry of lacking "a data-driven and evidence-based approach."

In their official response to the draft law, they called for a "rigorous analysis" of the economic impact that the law could have.

Some consumer organizations and business groups have also come out against the law, including the freight transport employers association, who say the measure prohibiting transport workers from smoking in their vehicles is "disproportionate."

Hospitality sector

The hospitality sector has also been vocal in their opposition, especially on the terrace smoking ban, calling it disproportionate and harmful to tourism and small businesses.

Several groups have urged lawmakers to block the bill, accusing Spain's health ministry of political grandstanding.

"Smoking on terraces is not a problem for society, said José Luis Álvarez, president of Hostelería de España. "This is a smoke screen to distract from failures in the healthcare system." 

Industry bodies Fecasarm and Spain Nightlife, as part of the public consultation process, submitted objections describing the ban as "a disproportionate measure," which is "lacking scientific support."

Joaquim Boadas, the General Secretary of both Fecasarm and Spain Nightlife, told Catalan News that the ban would "cause many problems to our sector."

"We think that it will affect tourism because Spain will be seen as a country where there are many bans," he added. 

Boadas also believes the legislation "won't reduce [tobacco] consumption," because people will "go to smoke in other spaces where there's no control, and this will produce noise and problems for nearby residents."

If the ban comes into force, venues' turnover would be impacted, Boadas argues, which in turn could lead to job losses.

He's also concerned about the burden that will fall on staff. "People working on our terraces will likely have to enforce the rules, and that's going to create conflict with customers."

"Surreal"

Aside from the terrace smoking ban, Fecasarm and Spain Nightlife also say the proposed law "unfairly equates traditional combustible tobacco with related products such as electronic cigarettes, vaping devices, and heated tobacco."

"Furthermore," their submission stated, "it is entirely inappropriate and unnecessary to include among the prohibited products, both indoors and outdoors, those that contain neither tobacco nor nicotine, such as shishas or nicotine-free electronic cigarettes."

"It's very surrealistic," Boadas said, "that this proposal aims to ban non-tobacco and non-nicotine products."

Too far, or not far enough?

While the hospitality sector believes the proposed legislation goes too far, both the Catalan health secretary and cancer charities believe it does not go far enough. 

Despite four decades of ever-stricter smoking bans, around 25% of adults still smoke, Dr Laureano Molins of the Association Against Cancer in Barcelona explains. He believes more regulation is needed to bring that number down.

"The United States is at less than 10%, and other European countries as well, so we are a little bit behind," Molins says.

In their submissions to the public consultation, regional health ministries and other organizations have asked the Spanish government to consider measures such as a ban on smoking in cars, plain packaging, and higher prices for tobacco and nicotine products.

"Most scientific societies and most of the regional governments including our government of Catalonia have asked to include plain packaging," says Esteve Fernández, Catalonia's Secretary of Public Health.

"Plain packaging is one of the best measures nowadays to tackle smoking, because packaging is the only way the tobacco industry still has to do publicity, which is otherwise forbidden by law," Fernández says.

He cites Australia, France, the United Kingdom, and Belgium, as other countries that have implemented plain packaging "with excellent results."

"It has an impact because it reduces consumption. Many smokers think twice about smoking, and also it discourages young people from buying tobacco because it is not attractive."

The draft law still faces a long road ahead, particularly as Spain's minority government will need to secure additional support to see it through Congress. However, if a terrace smoking ban is ultimately implemented, Fernández expects its impact to be felt well beyond Catalonia and Spain.

"We are not heroes trying to implement this," the health secretary concludes, "but we will be very, very brave if we can do this, because we will set an example for other societies to follow."