Beach-goers who break the rules face fines of up to €2,000.
All across Spain, beaches are cracking down on visitors smoking.
Hundreds of seaside destinations already prohibit lighting up and more bans have been introduced this year across the country’s islands and mainland.
On the Balearic Islands, 28 beaches have brought in smoke-free zones.
Last year, smoking was prohibited on all of Barcelona’s beaches following a successful trial in 2021.
Beach-goers who break the rules face fines of up to €2,000.
Spain’s islands are cracking down on smoking on the beach
Some of Spain’s most popular beaches, located on the Balearic Islands, have become cigarette-free zones.
A ban on smoking was brought in earlier this on 28 beaches including Playa de Talamanca in Ibiza, Platja Gran in Menorca, and Sant Joan in Mallorca.
The latest seaside destination to follow suit is Caló des Moro in San Antonio on the island of Ibiza.
The council said the ban hopes to protect the health of local residents and keep the sands cleaner.
Fines for transgressors vary between municipalities but could be as high as €2,000.
Barcelona’s beaches become smoke-free zones
On the mainland, the tourist hotspot of Barcelona introduced a ban on smoking on all of its 10 beaches last summer.
It is designed to protect the environment and ensure the right of citizens to enjoy a clean, unpolluted space, free of smoke and cigarette butts.
Those who break the rules could receive a €30 fine.
“I think it’s fair, to keep the beach clean. Also because of the environment. But being able to control every single person will be extremely difficult” said Antonella Bellotti, an Italian tourist.
She suggested keeping a designated smoking area “with trays for ashes and cigarette butts. To keep everything clean.”
The city council says the pilot program in 2021 significantly reduced the number of smokers on the beach and cigarette butts in the sand.
Spain pushes to ban smoking from all its beaches
Barcelona was the first major city in Spain to ban smoking on beaches. It joins hundreds of other seaside destinations in prohibiting cigarettes.
Beaches in Catalonia, Andalusia, Murcia and Galicia also forbid lighting up.
A countrywide law is currently being debated that could turn all of Spain’s beaches into smoke-free areas.
Smokers have left five billion cigarette butts at beaches worldwide every year, which end up in the sea and take decades to decompose.
Evelyn Varkonyi, a tourist from Austria, says the ban is necessary “because most people throw cigarettes in the sand.”
“I don’t do it. But I can understand. And it’s not good for nature.”
Source : euronews
