Barcelona prohibits smoking on all its beaches

Barcelona council members voted in favor of prohibiting smoking on all the city's beaches on Friday morning in a motion that is likely to come into effect next week.

All parties backed the measure except for the conservative People's Party and Manuel Valls' Valents, which abstained.

Smokers who repeatedly defy the ban face up to €30 fines, but it will not apply to those who smoke at beach bars on the sand. 

With this measure, the council aims to raise awareness of the health risks associated with tobacco and the pollution of cigarette butts in the sand. 

Eloi Badia, Barcelona's climate emergency councilor, celebrated the decision, arguing that most residents are already in favor of it given the success of last year's pilot scheme banning smoking on certain beaches. 

"People who want to smoke have the boardwalk for that," he said. 

Summer 2021 pilot scheme

Smoking was banned on four Barcelona beaches last summer: Sant Miquel, Somorrostro, Nova Icària, and Nova Mar Bella.

Not only were the pilot scheme's results "good" according to the council, but the measure was welcomed by most as fewer cigarette butts were left behind in the sand.

An estimated 1 in 5 residents are smokers, although they tend to smoke less at the beach.

Authorities found that smoking decreased significantly on these four beaches, but that it went up at those where it was still permitted.

The last week the measure was in place, authorities found that only 2.6% of beach-goers defied the ban, while 19% of those at the city's other six beaches smoked.