Spain: COVID-19 prompts smoking regulation in streets and terraces
Spain has been heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. From the first diagnosed case on January 31 this year to August 13, there were 337,334 cases, 129,009 hospitalizations and 28,605 deaths. After a growing number of daily cases of coronavirus across the country in recent weeks, Spain is going to regulate smoking in public outdoor spaces such as streets and terraces, based on the rationale that smoking can spread the virus.
Despite the Spanish tobacco control law already having a smoking ban in some outdoor areas, including schools, health care campuses and children’s playgrounds, there is only a partial ban in terraces, based on overall coverage and the number of walls. Smoking in open public places is very common in Spain, where 24% of the adult population smoke. The national ...
