The anti-smoking laws approved in recent years have not been of much use: 30% of the Spanish population smokes. So they will harden…
The Spanish government already has in place the draft of the Anti-Tobacco Law, which will be applied in the coming months. A draft that bans smoking in new places in 2022, including own car.
The last Anti-Tobacco Law dates back to 2010, and although it has served a great deal to protect those who do not smoke, eliminating smoke from public places, it has not been as effective as expected in reducing the number of smokers.
As explained by our colleague Noelia López in Auto Bild, in Spain 16.4% of women and 23.3% of men smoke daily. Total, 30% of the population included in the group of 24 to 64 years.
These are very high figures, so the Government has decided to formulate a new Anti-Tobacco Law that will take effect until 2025with the aim of reducing tobacco consumption by between 20 and 30%.
The draft of the Law has already been released, and although some things may change, having the absolute majority with its government partners should not vary much from the final proposal that will be approved in a few months.
The changes are not going to be as radical as in New Zealand, where they have banned smoking for life to those born after 2008. But the conditions for smokers are going to be toughened.
These will be the new measures of the draft of the 2022 Anti-Tobacco Law:
- Tobacco tax hike
- More smoke-free spaces
- Generic packaging of packs. All brands will use the same boxes, with a minimum space for the brand
- Electronic cigarettes will fall into the same category as tobacco
- Further restrict surreptitious advertising on social media
New places where smoking is prohibited
In addition to these measures, they will approve new smoke free places.
They are the following:
- The terraces of bars and restaurants
- Children’s play area environments
- Soccer stadiums and other sports venues such as swimming pools
- All vehicles even if they are for private use
So in a few months It will not be possible to smoke inside the car even if the driver travels alonealluding to the concentration of smoke inside.
If this measure is approved, as explained by our colleague Noelia López in Auto Bild, the sanctions will not be carried out by the DGTbut from the Ministry of Health, as it is a health issue.
For that reason no driving license points will be lost. It remains to be seen whether or not the regulations include traffic agents when it comes to sanctioning, as has happened with the issue of masks in the car, when it was mandatory to wear them.
If you are a smoker, it is a good time to consider giving up tobacco…