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If you are heading to the beach this summer in the province of Alicante, you might want to think twice before lighting up. While many towns along the coast are part of the Valencian Community’s Smoke-free Beaches initiative, two, Finestrat and Calp, have gone a step further and introduced actual fines for smoking on the sand.

 

In most places, the no-smoking rule is still more of a recommendation than a law. Signs have been posted and awareness campaigns rolled out, but lighting a cigarette on the beach will not get you into trouble. In Finestrat and Calp, however, it is a different story entirely.

 

Finestrat was the first to bring in fines back in July 2020, during the pandemic. Their local ordinance allows for a penalty of 750 euros for anyone caught smoking on the beach at La Cala. According to local officials, the beach is now largely free of both smoke and cigarette butts.

 

Calp has followed suit and will be enforcing similar fines this summer. The town, which already had limited smoke-free zones on Arenal-Bol, La Fossa and Cantal Roig beaches, has updated its local law to apply the ban across the entire coastline. The only exception will be two small designated smoking areas, one near Plaza Mediterrani on La Fossa beach, and another close to Plaza Colón on Arenal-Bol.

 

A municipal spokesperson said the goal is “to promote the health of beach users and avoid tobacco consumption that causes numerous diseases even for passive consumers.”

 

Elsewhere in the province, beaches in places like Dénia, Xàbia, Benidorm, Altea and El Campello have also joined the regional smoke-free network. However, in these towns, smoking is not currently punishable by law. At best, beachgoers may be asked politely to stub out their cigarette, but there is no fine in place.

 

That said, even in areas without an official smoking ban, many councils do fine people for leaving cigarette butts in the sand. Littering laws in towns such as Alicante, Benidorm and La Vila Joiosa include specific penalties for leaving waste on the beach, which can include discarded tobacco. Fines for this can reach 210 euros.

 

So, while puffing away might be technically allowed in most areas, dropping your butt in the sand could still cost you. And given that a single cigarette end can pollute 100 litres of water and takes years to break down, it is a habit that’s not only is lung damaging but environmentally damaging too.

 

With more towns considering stricter beach rules, this could be the last summer smoking is tolerated in many parts of the Costa Blanca.

 

 

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