Andalucía cracks down on outdoor smoking with more than 150 smoke-free spaces
The region now has 58 smoke-free beaches and 93 public pools as part of a growing health initiative
Spain is on a bit of a health kick and the government is busy trying to push through new legislation that will ban smoking in many outdoor spaces, including bar and restaurant terraces. At the moment, beaches and municipal pools aren’t in the firing line but that isn’t stopping Andalucía, which today has prohibited smoking in more than 150 such spaces.
The regional government first launched its smoke-free scheme back in 2019 and it’s been such a huge success, it’s planning to give it another boost this summer. Since its inception, a total of 118 Andalucían towns across the eight provinces have signed up. Between them, they’ve created 58 smoke-free beaches and 93 public swimming pools.
The beaches where cigarettes are banned are distributed among 29 municipalities, with Cadiz (24 smoke-free beaches) and Malaga (19) at the top, followed by Almeria (9), Huelva (4), another in Granada and one more in Cordoba, with its inland beach.
As for swimming pools, the 93 non-smoking ones are distributed among 89 towns and cities, with Jaen (24) and Seville (20) having the most, along with Malaga and Huelva (10 each), Cadiz and Cordoba (9), Granada (6) and Almeria (5).
The initiative began six years ago with a pilot project on Motril Beach in Granada, but it was in the early years following the COVID pandemic that the local town and city halls really started to show an interest.
As a result, the number of beaches and swimming pools with smoking bans increased from just one beach in 2019 to around twenty sandy areas in 2020, and almost one hundred spaces a year later, following the health crisis, when the number of beaches doubled and another fifty swimming pools joined the initiative. The number of spaces has been growing since then, albeit at an increasingly slower pace, with the number going from 92 spaces in 2021 to 119 in 2022; 142 the following year; and 149 last year.
To combat this natural enough slow-down, the Health Promotion Service is going to "relaunch" the project's website to publicise the campaign and provide details on how to register for this initiative, which they describe as "very attractive."
While city councils will not be required to fine those who smoke in smoke-free areas, it is the municipalities themselves who, through their local ordinances, have the authority to impose fines in this regard.
The latest data from the Andalucían Comprehensive Tobacco Plan, based on the 2023 Andalucían Health Survey, show that 20.89% of people over the age of 16 regularly smoke. Almost 19% of these are daily smokers, but this still reflects a "significant" 10% decrease compared to 2016. However, the consumption of non-conventional tobacco (water pipes, hookahs, vapes and e-cigarettes) has increased.
The smoke-free beaches in Andalucía
- Almería: San Nicolás (Adra), El Palmeral (Almería), Pozo del Espartero and Quitapellejos-Palomares (Cuevas de Almanzora), San José (Níjar), Cala Marqués, El Playazo, Las Marinas-Bolaga and Puerto Rey (Vera).
- Cádiz: Getares and La Concha (Algeciras); Santiscal (Arcos de la Frontera); Caños de Meca, El Carmen, Zahara de los Atunes and Zahora (Barbate); El Chorrillo and La Fontanilla (Conil); Levante (La Línea); La Puntilla (El Puerto de Santa María); La Cachucha and La Ministra and el Conchal (Puerto Real); Bonanza, Bajo Guía, La Calzada-Piletas and La Jara (Sanlúcar de Barrameda); Atlanterra, Bolonia, Playa Chica, Lances Sur y Norte and Valdevaqueros (Tarifa); El Palmar (Vejer); and Arroyo Molinos (Zahara de la Sierra).
- Córdoba: Almodóvar del Río.
- Granada: Playa Granada (Motril).
- Huelva: Isla Canela (Ayamonte), Isla Cristina (un tramo), Poniente (La Antilla, Lepe) and Playa del Albergue (Punta Umbría).
- Málaga: Algarrobo; La Rada (Estepona); La Bonita (Benalmádena), El Faro, San Pedro de Alcántara and Playa de Venus (Marbella); Calahonda, El Bombo and La Cala (Mijas); Cenicero, Ferrara and Morche (Torrox); Almayate, Benajarafe, Caleta, Lagos, Mezquitilla, Torre del Mar and Valle Nizas (Vélez-Málaga).
The smoke-free municipal pools in Andalucía
- Almería: Benahadux, Cuevas de Almanzora, Purchena, Vélez-Rubio and Viator.
- Cádiz: Alcalá del Valle, Arcos de la Frontera, Benalup-Casas Viejas, Bornos, El Gastor, Grazalema, Trebujena, Villaluenga del Rosario and Zahara de la Sierra.
- Córdoba: Baena (municipal and in Albendín), Cabra, Cañete de las Torres, Guadalcázar, Montemayor, Posadas, La Victoria and Villaharta.
- Granada: Benamaurel, Cúllar, Motril, Padul, Puebla de Don Fadrique and Velez de Banaudalla.
- Huelva: Alosno, Aracena, Bonares, El Campillo, El Cerro de Andévalo, Jabugo, Nerva, Paymogo, San Juan del Puerto and Tharsis.
- Jaén: Albanchez de Mágina, Arjonilla, Bailén, Bedmar y Garcíez, Belez de Moraleda, Cambil, Cazorla, Fuerte del Rey, La Guardia de Jaén, La Iruela, Jaén capital (3), Jódar, Mancha Real, Mengíbar, Orcera, Puente de Génave, La Puerta de Segura, Quesada, Santo Tomé, Sorihuela del Guadalimar and Villacarrillo.
- Málaga: Álora, Antequera, Archidona, Arriate, Benahavís, Benahoján, Campillos, Cortes de la Frontera, Montejaque and Ojén.
- Sevilla: Bollullos de la Mitación, Bormujos, La Campana, Cantillana, Casariche, Castilleja del Campo, Coria del Río, El Coronil, Estepa, Fuentes de Andalucía, Lebrija, El Madroño, Mairena del Alcor, El Palmar de Troya, Pilas, La Puebla de Cazalla, El Rubio, Santiponce, Tomares and Villamanrique de la Condesa.
Also of interest: These are the Spanish beaches that welcome dogs this summer
Image: Ayuntamiento de Estepona
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