By Olivier Acuña Barba, EuroWeekly News
May 29, 2025- The Spanish government is finalising the anti-smoking law and will soon send it to Congress before it goes to the Senate for final approval. The timeline has not been specified.
The purpose of the new smoking law is to create more smoke-free spaces nationwide in places where it makes sense to protect the public’s health, according to the Ministry of Health.
Monica Garcia, the Health Minister, announced the law in an interview with Cadena SER. She said she hopes the law will mark “a turning point” and place Spain at the “forefront of the fight against smoking.”
“For example, smoking will be prohibited in work vehicles, nor will smoking be permitted in educational centres, including outdoor spaces such as school playgrounds or university campuses. The law is nationwide,” Garcia said. “Sports facilities, communal swimming pools, bus shelters, and outdoor party venues and terraces will also be smoke-free.”
An ambitious fight against tobacco
Garcia admitted the new law banning smoking in communal areas indoors and outdoors is ambitious, but that it needs to be to succeed in the “fight against smoking, which causes 30 per cent of all cancer cases in the country.”
The health official also stated that the restrictions will apply to traditional tobacco, vapes, and heated tobacco as well.
The law, which stems from the Anti-Smoking Plan approved a year ago, still needs to be reviewed in the Council of Ministers for a second round of voting before being sent to the Congress of Deputies for parliamentary approval. The Minister of Health hopes this will happen “soon,” although she hasn’t given a specific timeframe.
According to the report, the measures included in the draft, and specifically the smoke-free spaces that the new law will recognise, are supported by scientific evidence, by the European Union, and by a vast majority of citizens, including smokers.”
More taxes on tobacco
Brussels already drafted a document in September to guide Member States in their respective anti-smoking legislation, which proposed very similar restrictions. It suggested banning smoking—both tobacco and e-cigarettes—on terraces, parks, public transport stops, and outdoor recreational areas where children are often present, such as playgrounds, amusement parks, public buildings, or service establishments.
These areas include outdoor recreational areas where children are likely to congregate, such as public playgrounds, amusement parks, and swimming pools; outdoor areas connected to health and educational facilities; public buildings; service establishments; and transport stops and stations.
The Spanish government’s plan also includes funding for smoking cessation treatments from the National Health System, as well as raising taxes on tobacco and all tobacco-related products.
A survey by 20 Minutos shows that 61.46 per cent of respondents are in favour of the new smoking ban, while 36.31 per cent feel it’s too restrictive. Two-point-two per cent say they have not made up their mind either way. So far, 15,727 people have responded to the survey.
