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All beaches in Barcelona become smoke-free zones

Smokers have bad cards in Barcelona in the future. Catalonia’s capital wants to ban smoking on all city beaches from July 1st.

Other regions in Spain, including the Canary and Balearic Islands, had previously declared several beaches to be smoke-free zones. Other communities could follow suit. Because a law that allows them to ban smoking on beaches already exists.

Barcelona wants to ban smoking on the city’s beaches from July 1st. The tests carried out on some beaches in 2021 were successful, the city administration announced these days according to a report by the German Press Agency (dpa). The initiative was very well received by the citizens. The capital of Catalonia has a total of ten beaches, some of which are kilometers long, which are also visited by numerous tourists. Violations of the smoking ban on Barcelona’s city beaches are to be punished with a fine of 30 euros.

“The aim of this measure is to create a healthier environment and, above all, to protect passive smokers,” said Eloi Badia city councilor, who is responsible for ecological change, according to dpa. In addition, waste should be avoided, because cigarette butts are “a significant environmental problem”.

Smoking ban not only on the beaches of Barcelona

The Spanish parliament recently passed a law that aims, among other things, to curb tobacco consumption on beaches. The regulation aims to encourage local communities to declare their beaches smoke-free zones. The decision is therefore in local hands. Nevertheless, Spain could soon be the first country in Europe to ban cigarettes from beaches nationwide. Violations of an applicable smoking ban can cost up to 2000 euros.

The regions in which smoking bans already apply on individual beaches include the Canary and Balearic Islands, the Basque Country, Galicia, Andalusia and Valencia.

Pollution from cigarette butts

According to the Daily Mail, the law in Spain aims to tackle pollution from cigarette butts, which is a major environmental problem along Spain’s 3,000-metre-long coastline. Cigarette butts contain a non-biodegradable plastic polymer that releases toxic compounds, as well as substances such as arsenic, lead, chromium, copper, formaldehyde and benzene. Researchers at the University of San Diego have shown that a cigarette dissolved in a quart kills fish after four days.

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