Cigarette Smoking Could Be Banned on Beaches as Spain's Costa Blanca Sees Three Areas Discuss Safety Plans

CIGARETTE smoking could be banned on beaches in parts of Spain’s Costa Blanca region, with joint safety plans set to be produced across three municipalities.
El Campello, Alicante and Elche representatives are to hold a video conference tomorrow (May 28) to thrash out a common policy amongst themselves which would be observed across a significant part of the Alicante Province coastline.
El Campello’s Beaches Councillor, Julio Orca, said: “We are working so that the laws can be applied on a unified basis and avoid generating a feeling of uncertainty amongst bathers as to where they might stand legally.
“This is regardless of which beach in which municipality they might go to, as of course the boundaries are somewhat unknown to beach goers, and so we are urgently looking for an easy and simple solution, whilst maintaining safety at all times,” the councillor added.
The talks will look at access and capacity issues, as well as the daily cleaning of the beaches and walkways.
The meeting might also discuss whether or not beaches should be free from cigarette and cigar smokers.
“This would be the perfect time to make our beaches smoke-free, which would prevent all the cigarette butts that are put into the sand, and take resources away from dealing with the coronavirus, as staff have to clear them up,” Orca observed.
Many municipalities right across the Alicante Province area launch annual summer campaigns to stop cigarette butts being dumped on beaches, yet very few authorities have looked at the more straightforward option of simply banning smoking on the sands.