Spain
Spain implemnted smokefree workplace, bar and restaurant law on January 1, 2006. The law also prohibited cigarette advertising, increased the legal age to buy cigarettes, and required health warnings on cigarette packages.
The Spanish region of Catalonia is discussing plans to prohibit smoking in workplaces, and require restaurants and bars to set aside 70% of their area as a non-smoking section.
| Smokefree News |
| Spain's Basque region moves to ban smoking in cars MADRID — The government of Spain's northern Basque region said Wednesday it had approved a stringent anti-smoking law which will make it illegal to light up inside a car if a minor is present. Under the draft law, which now must be approved by the regional Basque parliament, adults will also be banned from smoking in places like playgrounds and school yards that are destined for use by children. In addition, the law bans smoking in all bars, restaurants and other public enclosed places as well as in open spaces like cafe terraces "that do not allow for strong air currents". The draft law goes much further than the anti-smoking legislation in place at the national level in Spain since 2006, which bans smoking in the workplace and on public transport but only partially in bars and restaurants. ... Heterogeneous Trend in Smoking Prevalence by Sex and Age Group Following the Implementation of a National Smoke-free Law Spain - The ban on smoking in all public places comes to with ... The Spanish will have to forget the habit of smoking a cigarette or cigar at baptisms, communions and weddings, as they did traditionally even non-smokers, because, according to Jimenez, it should be in compliance with the Act The PSOE, IU, ICV and ERC have supported, in the Congress, legislative reform of the Anti-Tobacco Law that prohibits smoking in enclosed public places, which means that the initiative has a "sufficient majority" to pass. This was announced by Health Minister, Trinidad Jiménez, in a press conference in which he explained that this proposition is based on "a single article" aimed at freeing bars, leisure venues and hospitality facilities from smok , and will enter into force, expected on 1 January 2011. The minister has denied that there is a disagreement with other political groups that do not participate in the initiative, but has confessed that the PP preferred to submit a project in the Council of Ministers whose debate "would become endless at this point in the legislature. "Consensus does not mean unanimity, I have to say that the popular group is not opposed, they simply favoured a different route," said. ... Spain proposes total smoking ban in bars and restaurants For many British tourists, the stench of strong tobacco is as synonymous with Spain as serrano ham and rioja wine. But they may soon say Adios to grey clouds hovering at Spain's infamously smoggy tapas bars and cafés with a ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces. In 2006, the government introduced a partial ban that offered loopholes to the country's many tiny, family-owned eateries and bars. Now the Spanish health ministry has drafted a tougher law that cracks down on the entire dining-and-drinking scene, from multi-level discos to 10-seat bars. The Spanish parliament is expected to approve the ban this month, and it is expected to take effect in 2011. ... Spain says smoking ban to be in place early 2011 MADRID (Reuters) - Smokers have at least a few more months to light up in Spain's restaurants, bars and cafes. The government had hoped to tighten the rules on smoking in public places this year, but Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez said on Tuesday that tougher restrictions are unlikely to be in place before the beginning of 2011. She said reforms of a 2006 law that banned smoking in the workplace and Spain's metro, among other locations, would be presented to Congress at the beginning of June and debated the same month. "All of that would take us to the beginning of 2011 when this could reasonably be approved," Jimenez said at a presentation of national health statistics in Madrid. ... Seven out of ten Spaniards in favour of banning smoking Seven out of ten Spaniards are in favour of a complete ban on tobacco in public places and 32.8% say they would frequent restaurants and bars more often if smoking was banned in them. These are the main conclusions of a report published today by the Spanish Society for Family & Community Medicine (semFYC), which interviewed nearly 3,000 smokers, non-smokers and ex-smokers, in preparation for the 'Semana sin Humo' (National No Smoking Week) which runs from May 24th to 31st. ... Smoking ban to come in by end of June MADRID (Dow Jones)--Spain's government will present a law to Congress to ban smoking in closed public places in June, the Spanish health minister, ... Smoking Ban in Spanish Bars not to start until 2011 Without even a collective cough or splutter it seems like the threat of a complete smoking ban in public places may have a stay of execution. Although the ‘P’ in PSOE does not stand for procrastination, as the summer break approaches, it seems that legislation with the amendments to the 2005 law, may not reach Congress before the holiday season kicks in! According to news in the Spanish Press, including La Razón, it’s possible that the Minister for Health, Trinidad Jiménez is considering putting off the zero tolerance smoking legislation until 2011, at least for Bars and Cafes. ... Spain postpones anti-smoking ban in search of consensus The Spanish government has postponed a parliamentary debate on tougher anti-smoking legislation in the hope of mustering more support for the controversial plan, sources of the Health Ministry said Monday. The government had intended to present the law during the Spanish European Union presidency in the first half of this year, but may only do so later in the year, the sources said. ... Hospitality industry supports smoking in bars The Spanish Federation of Hospitality (FEHR) is opposed to the government’s plan to extend the smoking ban to bars and public spaces. FEHR’s president, José Maria Rubio believes that the ban will lead to the closure of businesses and consequently people will lose their jobs. He cited Ireland as an example, as almost a quarter of all bars there closed because of the effects of the smoking ban between 2004 and 2008. Rubio has said that about 70,000 of Spain’s 360,000 bars may also have to close if the smoking ban extension is enforced. This would then lead to 200,000 people losing their jobs. However, government statistics show that smoking is the main cause of death in Spain, with about 8.3 percent of people dieing from lung cancer. Majority of Spaniards in favor of extended smoking ban: survey Some 56 percent of Spaniards support a government plan to extend the current smoking ban to more public places, a survey of El Pais newspaper showed Sunday. Having prohibited smoking in the workplace in 2006, the Spanish government now plans to extend the ban to bars and other enclosed public areas in 2010. The proposed legislation, if approved, would bring Spain into line with other European nations such as Britain, France, Ireland and Italy. Spain's government comes under fire as smoking ban comes into force, anti ... The vice president of the federation, Gaietà Farràs said that each of the premises carried out work to establish their own spaces for smokers and smoke-free areas, spent an average of between 20,000 and 25,000 euros each, investments that could fall on deaf ears with the tightening of anti-smoking law in 2010. ... SPAIN SPLIT ON SMOKING BAN Originally set to be implemented on the 1st of January this year, the smoking ban is still being debated in the halls of power here in Spain with opposition parties failing to agree and Madrid setting its own rules. Spain’s Health Minister Trinidad Jiménez has stated that she wants a new tobacco ban prohibiting smoking in all public places throughout Spain to go into effect as soon as the ruling Socialist Party can gather cross party support for its ratification by Congress. ... Spanish Hotels Say "NO" to Smoking Ban Hit by recession Spain's hotel and catering industry Tuesday protested a government plan to ban smoking in public places next year, warning that it could severely affect its business. "We are very concerned of the negative consequences" of this plan, said Jose Luis Guerra, deputy head of Spain's Hotel and Catering Association (FEHR). "Our problem is that 40 percent of our customers link smoking with the consumption of products in hotels and restaurants," he told Spanish National Radio. He predicted a fall of 10 percent in business if the ban is imposed. ... Spain seeks new anti-smoking law from next year MADRID — Spain's government said Monday it hopes to pass a law next year to ban smoking in enclosed public places such as bars and restaurants. Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez said there is a "very large consensus" for such a move. "The problem is not smoking in public places, but in enclosed public places," she told RAC1 radio. Spain already has an anti-smoking law in force since January 2006, less restrictive that in other European countries, which bans smoking in the workplace and on public transport but only partially in bars and restaurants. ... Legislating Tolerance: Spain's National Public Smoking Law While Spain's national tobacco control legislation prohibits smoking in many indoor public places, the law provides for an exception to the prohibition of smoking by allowing separate seating sections and ventilation options in certain public places such as bars and restaurants, hotels, and airports. Accordingly, Spain's law is not aligned with Article 8 Guidelines of the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which requires Parties to ensure universal protection against secondhand smoke exposure in all enclosed public places, workplaces, and on all means of public transport. Spain's law is currently being promoted by the tobacco companies in other countries as model smoke-free legislation. In order to prevent weakening of smoke-free laws in other countries through industry-supported exceptions, we investigated the tactics used by the tobacco companies prior to the implementation of the new law and assessed the consequences of these actions in the hospitality sector. Internal tobacco industry documents made public through U.S. litigation settlements dating back to the 1980s were searched in 2008-2009. Documents show that tobacco companies sought to protect hospitality venues from smoking restrictions by promoting separate seating for smokers and ineffective ventilation technologies, supporting an unenforceable voluntary agreement between the Madrid local government and the hospitality industry, influencing ventilation standard setting, and manipulating Spanish media. The Spanish National Assembly should adopt comprehensive smoke-free legislation that does not accommodate the interests of the tobacco industry. In doing so, Spain's smoke-free public places law would be better aligned with the FCTC and Article 8 Guidelines. Spain to ban smoking in closed public spaces In an interview given to El Mundo today, the Spanish Minister for Health, Trinidad Jiménez, has said that smoking is to be prohibited in all closed public spaces, leisure areas and restaurants. She told the paper that it was a matter of public health and that Spain should go as far as the rest of Europe. Talks were being held with other political groups and the sectors affected so that the measure can be understood and accepted by everyone. ... Impact of the Spanish smoking law in smoker hospitality workers Introduction: A smoke-free law went into effect in Spain on 1 January 2006, affecting all enclosed workplaces except hospitality venues, where only partial bans were implemented. The objective was to evaluate the impact of the law among hospitality workers who smoke. . . . Results: Among 118 smokers, six (5.1%) quit smoking. Among the 112 remaining smokers, the mean number of cigarettes smoked decreased by 8.9% after the ban (from 17.9 to 16.3 cigarettes/day, p < .01). The proportion of workers with a high nicotine dependence (FTND score >6) was reduced by half after the ban (19.5% vs. 9.7%, p = .03). Salivary cotinine decreased by 4.4% after the ban (geometric mean 104.3 vs. 99.7 ng/ml, p = .02). No meaningful differences were found in quit rates and the FTND scores according to type of regulation. Discussion: The Spanish smoking law has had beneficial effects (reduction in number of cigarettes smoked, cotinine levels, and FTND score) among hospitality workers who smoke. Research on the impact of anti-smoking law in public places ... Researchers from the Catalan Institute of Oncology have studied the impact of the law banning smoking in public places such as bars and restaurants on those working in these places. The results are positive - 5% of waiters have stopped smoking, and the number of cigarettes smoked by those who still smoke has fallen by almost 9%. On 1 January 2006, a smoking ban came into force in public places in Spain. More than three years later, these health measures against tobacco smoking have borne fruit. A new study led by researchers from the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) has shown that the proportion of smokers strongly addicted to nicotine has halved as a result of the law. All the effects observed during this research study, which is published this month in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, have been "significantly reduced" among waiters in bars where smoking has been completely banned than among those who work in places with smoking areas, or where there are no restrictions in place. "Changing the partial ban on tobacco consumption in bars and restaurants for a total ban would have beneficial effects on the health of all the workers in this sector", Esteve Fernández, one of the authors of the study and a researcher at the ICO, tells SINC. ... Spain eyes total smoking ban in public places Health authorities "would like to take the decision to totally ban smoking in all public places," based on opinion polls which show that the majority of Spaniards back such a move, Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez said. Total smoking ban could be on the cards HEALTH minister Trinidad Jiménez (pictured) has threatened to ban smoking in all public places – including bars and restaurants. Since the anti-smoking law came into effect on January 1, 2006, all bars over 120 square metres – not counting the kitchen, bar and toilets – had to choose whether to allow smoking on their premises. . . . But the ministry of health says that although a million people in Spain have given up smoking since January 2006, the law does not have sufficient impact. They believe Spain is ‘now ready for a total ban’ and commented that most other European countries have stopped letting people smoke in public places. ... Spain's anti-smoking laws improve air quality Nebot M, M López, C Ariza, M Pérez-Ríos, M Fu, A Schiaffino, G Munñz, E Saltó and E Fernández. Impact of the Spanish smoking law on exposure to secondhand smoke in offices and hospitality venues: before-and-after study. Environmental Health Perspectives doi:10.1289/ehp.11845. Synopsis by Michele A. La Merrill, Ph.D. Anti-smoking laws in Spain have reduced exposures and improved workplace air quality in an effort to keep workers healthy. One year after a ban on smoking in all work places and some hospitality venues in Spain, nicotine levels in the air were significantly diminished -- up to 97 percent in some cases -- in offices and were much lower in nonsmoking areas of restaurants and bars. The reductions are important because evidence linking secondhand smoke to adverse health effects has been growing. Even small exposures to the cancer-causing agents found in tobacco smoke increase the risk of cancer. Worldwide, the most effective public health efforts to curb exposure have been laws that ban smoking. This new study confirms these prior examples. In 2006, Spain joined other European countries in banning indoor smoking in the workplace. For this study, public administration offices, businesses, universities, bars and restaurant in eight regions of Spain were sampled at the end of 2005, just prior to when the ban started. Twelve months later, samples were collected from the same locations. Nicotine levels in places with total bans were significantly lower. Non smoking areas in bars and restaurants also had large reductions in nicotine measured, almost 89 percent less. Places where smoking remained had no reductions. Mortality attributable to passive smoking in Spain, 2002 Conclusion: Exposure to ETS at home and at work in Spain could be responsible for 1228–3237 of deaths from lung cancer and ischaemic heart disease. These data confirm that passive smoking is an important public health problem in Spain that needs urgent attention. Catalonia to ban smoking in all bars, restaurants As anti-tobacco campaigners marked World Anti-Smoking Day, Catalonia said it is planning to adopt even stricter measures to curtail smoking than those due to be enacted in a nationwide law on tobacco consumption. The Catalan regional government, in north-east Spain, is to ban smoking in bars and restaurants, in the same tough stance as Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway. Spain is set to introduce an anti-smoking law nationwide from January next year. It will force owners of bars and restaurants larger than 100 square metres to have air conditioning and non-smoking areas in at least 70 percent of the area. Lighting up in the work place will also be prohibited. Selling cigarettes to those under 16 will be punishable with fines. |