Spain's cabinet approves terrace smoking ban in blow to hospitality

Spain’s cabinet has approved a sweeping draft law that bans smoking on restaurant and café terraces, extending strict indoor limits introduced in 2010 to the country’s sprawling outdoor dining spaces.

The legislation is set to deliver a significant shock to the Spanish hospitality sector, where outdoor seating is a commercial cornerstone during the country's searing summer heat. Around a quarter of Spanish adults smoke daily, making the terrace prohibition a likely source of fierce industry backlash. The draft law must still pass Congress, where the government currently lacks a majority.

Under the new rules, lighting up will also be prohibited within 15 metres of public buildings, health clinics, educational institutions, museums and sports facilities. The ban covers beaches, national parks, bus shelters, train platforms, and vehicles such as taxis. It applies equally to traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vapes, herbal products and shisha pipes, though nicotine pouches are excluded from the consumption ban.

For the first time in Spain, the law explicitly forbids minors under 18 from consuming tobacco, rather than merely prohibiting its sale to them. The draft also introduces a comprehensive ban on the advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products across all media, including the internet and social media.

Health Minister Monica García framed the reform as an economic as well as a medical necessity. Smoking causes 50,000 deaths annually in Spain and is a risk factor in roughly 30 percent of cancers. García told a news conference the law could yield healthcare savings of between €100 million and €200 million each year.

"These resources can then be dedicated to addressing other needs of the system instead of treating preventable diseases," she said. "The aim is simple: to make clean air the norm in shared spaces," she added, noting that pregnant women and asthma sufferers should be able to dine outdoors without smoke from neighbouring tables.

"We're equating new products with traditional tobacco, prohibiting advertising on the internet and social media, and reinforcing the limits on indirect promotion and commercial offers used to attract new consumers," García explained. The overarching goal, she added, is "to better protect public health and move towards a tobacco-free generation."