Spain to ban smoking on ALL beaches and impose €2,000 fine

Spain will ban smoking on all of its beaches, imposing fines of up to €2,000 for anyone caught lighting up.

Spain will ban smoking on all of its beaches, imposing fines of up to €2,000 for anyone caught lighting up as it aims to combat pollution caused by cigarette butts.

Cigarette butts are one of the most harmful pollutants and release toxic compounds, they are a huge environmental issue on Spain’s 3,000 miles of coastline.

Analysis carried out by the European Environment Agency in 2018 found cigarette butts and their filters are among the most commonly found items on Europe’s beaches.

Several regions in Spain including the Canary Islands and Barcelona already have similar smoking bans on their beaches.

The ban comes after a petition was signed by over 283,000 people and given to the government to request that the law changes. The new law was introduced by a green party as an amendment to a government initiative recommending that coastal areas promote not smoking on beaches.

Some beaches had smoking bans last summer with the aim of limiting the spread of Covid, promoting health and reducing pollution.

While other regions in Europe have also started to ban smoking on beaches, such as areas in southern France and Sardinia, Spain’s nationwide ban will be the first in Europe.

The law received 182 votes in parliament, with 70 voting against it and 88 abstaining.

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