Spain's government has presented legislation that would ban smoking on café and restaurant terraces, beaches, and a range of other public spaces, while also subjecting e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, nicotine pouches, and hookahs to the same regulations that currently apply to conventional cigarettes. Health Minister Mónica García unveiled the bill, which still requires parliamentary approval before it can become law.

Under the proposed measures, smoking would be prohibited at sports facilities, universities, public swimming pools, and event venues, as well as in commercially used vehicles. A smoke-free buffer zone of 15 metres would be established around the entrances to schools, healthcare facilities, and playgrounds. All advertising for tobacco and nicotine products in public and shared spaces would also be banned. The bill notably extends its scope to newer products: vaping devices, snus — small nicotine pouches placed under the lip — and heated tobacco products would all fall under the same legal framework as traditional cigarettes.

Minister García has pointed to the protection of minors as one of the reform's central goals. While the sale of tobacco products to under-18s is already prohibited in Spain, their use by minors is not explicitly banned under current law. A Spanish study cited by the government found that vaping among young people has doubled over the past six years. Officials also note that roughly 50,000 people die annually in Spain from smoking-related causes, and that tobacco use is linked to approximately 30 percent of all cancer cases.

The hospitality industry has pushed back against the plans, arguing that the government should have waited for a revision of European Union regulations to avoid Spain becoming, in the words of one sector group, "an exception in Europe." Industry representatives also warn that banning outdoor smoking could push smokers indoors, potentially exposing family members and co-workers to higher levels of tobacco smoke. Spain introduced a temporary smoking ban on terraces during the Covid-19 pandemic, but that measure was later lifted.

The largest opposition party has indicated it could support the bill only if dedicated smoking zones are created and measures are taken to ensure the hospitality sector is not unduly harmed — conditions that signal a difficult road ahead for the legislation in parliament. The outcome of those negotiations will determine both the scope and the timeline of what would be a significant expansion of Spain's public smoking restrictions.