The Misericordia Gardens, Son Malferit and the Balearic Stadium have become the first Smoke Free Spaces in Mallorca.
This is an agreement reached by the Spanish Association Against Cancer in the Balearics (AECC) with the Council of Mallorca and Atlético Baleares football team which plays at the stadium, to mark World No Tobacco Day.
The ban at the Estadi Balear will come into effect when the new season begins in mid-August, but before that, the AECC will begin to educate and inform people about the disadvantages of smoking in public spaces.
According to data from the Association, in almost 100% of public spaces where there are minors, there are traces of tobacco smoke that are harmful to health.
An example would be the bar and restaurant terraces, in 95% of them there are traces of harmful smoke.
Dr. José Reyes, president of the Spanish Association Against Cancer in the Balearics, points out that "72% of minors are exposed to tobacco smoke, 43% of them in outdoor spaces where they inhale more than 70 carcinogenic substances, which multiplies the risk of developing lung cancer in adulthood".
In addition, the campaign against smoking on beaches is also gathering momentum this summer. The AECC launched a social awareness campaign today with the aim of prohibiting smoking on all beaches in the Balearics, as well as extending the current anti-smoking law to protect the population in general, and minors in particular.
The Balearics is one of the Autonomous Communities with the highest number of smokers in Spain, with 21% of its citizens using tobacco on a daily basis.
According to the latest report by the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC), 21% of people in the Balearics smoke every day. Only Extremadura (25 %) and Murcia (24 %) are ahead of the Islands.