The Ministry of Health of Catalonia is preparing a regulation that seeks to ban smoking in bars, terraces and public places. The regulation contemplates a definitive ban on smoking in these spaces, as well as in public transportation, bus stops and school environments.
The aim is to increasingly close the circle of smokers. The initiative began several years ago, but the objective now is to extend it to different leisure and high public concentration sites.
The drafting of the proposed regulation will be ready in the next few weeks, to then begin its passage through parliamentarians. The main objective will be to declare the aforementioned spaces smoke-free.
Ban smoking in bars, terraces and public places next to free help
Along with the implementation of the regulation, free nicotine substitution treatment will also be offered to people with an income of less than 18,000 euros.
This aid is intended to have an impact on some 600,000 smokers by saving them around 300 euros of the cost of a nicotine replacement smoking cessation treatment.
For its part, the Conselleria de Salut explained that the reduction of smokers in Catalonia stopped in 2017.
Since that year, this population has remained stable at 24% of smokers.
He also clarifies that whenever a new regulation is promoted to declare smoke-free spaces, more people have quit smoking.
The rule complements the fines for smokers on the beach
It is good to remember that since mid-April last year, Barcelona began to fine those who smoke on the beach. The ordinance was approved at the time by the Plenary of the City Council, which banned smoking on the city’s beaches.
The pilot test of this regulation for beaches began at the height of the pandemic when tobacco was eliminated from 4 of the 10 beaches of the Catalan capital. Smoking is allowed in the beach bar areas.
The main intention of this measure was not only to improve and preserve the health of the people of Barcelona, but also to prevent polluting cigarette butts from getting buried in the sand of the beach and accumulating on the coastline.
This waste can take up to 10 years to biodegrade, and therefore, the measure was intended to make beaches healthier places to live. Achieve less waste in them and turn the population into defenders of the environment.
Thanks to this regulation, anti-smoke agents began patrolling the beaches to fine and warn offenders.
If the rule to prevent smoking in bars, terraces and other public places is approved, it will start as usual, with educational measures rather than sanctions.
