Spain has a record number of beaches where smoking is banned: here we list them

Spain does not have a state law banning smoking on beaches - yet. Although the environmental damage caused by cigarette butts in these natural spaces is well known, where they are by far the most abundant waste , the decision remains in the hands of each municipality. However, more and more cities, towns and villages are hanging up the no-smoking sign on the seashore.

With varying degrees of success in their control, and with legislation of varying intensity in terms of penalties, this year Spain has set a record for the number of beach resorts that ban smoking. Of the country's 3,500 beaches, 700, or 20 per cent, have activated this ban.

The Nofumadores association began to quantify how many beaches could be considered smoke-free in Spain in 2014. Then, they published the first 15 on a map. This year, a decade later, the figure is infinitely higher. Even an inland community has made its debut this year in this register: for the first time, the river beach of Las Moreras, in Valladolid, has also hung the no-smoking sign.

But there is not control of compliance with this ban everywhere. "Despite the exponential increase in the number of smoke-free beaches, the measure is cosmetic and educational in the vast majority, as there are no fines," said the president of the association, Raquel Ferández.

There are important exceptions to this statement. Barcelona, Lloret de Mar and the municipalities of the Canary Islands do have a municipal ordinance based on the law on waste and contaminated soil to establish a sanctioning regulation. In addition to these areas, in 2022, Cantabria became the first autonomous community to declare all its beaches smoke-free, 87 in total, and created an autonomous law that made it the first region with its own legislation in this respect.

Galicia also has the Red Galega de Praias sen Fume (Galician network of beaches without smoking), which has 242 sites, 25 per cent of all the beaches registered in Galicia. A Coruña, according to the association, has the highest number of beaches banning cigarettes - 108 in total - due to the "strong concern about the polluting impact they have on the seafood industry".

As for the Canary Islands, at least formally, it does establish fines in legislation in a sanctioning regulation based on the aforementioned waste law. In total, there are 67 beaches where smoking is prohibited.

In Andalucía, there are 57 in total, a figure that has grown little over the last decade. Cadiz and Malaga have the most spaces declared 'smoke-free'.

The association that leads this initiative for tobacco-free beaches claims that the Valencian region has experienced a setback in the fight against pollution by cigarette butts in the municipalities that have experienced a change of government in favour of the PP in the last elections. "We call on the new municipalities of Valencia, Alicante, Villajoyosa, Elche, Benicarló, Castellón de la Plana and Teulada to rejoin this civic and environmental initiative," said Fernández Megina. In 2023 there were 85 kilometres of coastline where smoking and vaping were formally banned, and this summer there are 66.

Nofumadores has already collected 369,000 signatures on the Change.org platform to ask the government to pass a national law declaring all beaches free of tobacco and vaping, and above all, their waste, following the path of other neighbouring countries such as France.

For now, the health delegation has just approved the draft bill that, in the future, will allow the expansion of smoke-free spaces, including those enjoyed outdoors, such as terraces and beaches. For now, the draft does not give details of what these places will be. It only specifies that they should be "community or social spaces". The draft is now under prior consultation and until 15 August it will be able to receive suggestions from medical associations , citizens and all kinds of NGOs. After this date, the drafting of the text will begin and it will be sent for approval.

In the case of beaches, the call for a ban is not only about the health of passive smokers, but also about the environmental damage caused by cigarette butts. Their filters are composed of cellulose acetate, a plastic that is not very biodegradable and which, after fragmentation, turns into microplastics . Science has shown on numerous occasions that these microplastics accumulate in the bodies of humans and animals.