The ban on smoking on bar and restaurant terraces in Mallorca and the Balearics was a measure adopted because of Covid. Only one other region of Spain, Valencia, has maintained the ban, decisions for prohibition having been delegated to regional authorities.
However, as the health emergency has passed, all remaining regulations adopted because of the pandemic are due to be scrapped. The main one is the requirement to wear masks in health centres and in pharmacies. There isn't a date as such, but the final elimination of these regulations is believed to be imminent.
In the Balearics, the ban on smoking on terraces became a public health measure separate to Covid regulations. Regions were allowed to drop the ban if they wished to, and mostly all of them did, with the exception of the Balearics and Valencia. The strategy was to extend the ban under the umbrella of Covid rules until such a time as the new national anti-tobacco law was introduced. It hasn't been and won't be because the general election has been brought forward to July 23. And as state Covid regulations will end, it is believed that there can be no grounds for continuing to ban smoking on terraces.
Given this situation, the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) in the Balearics has marked World No-Tobacco Day (May 31) by presenting a 'Smoke Free Space' initiative. At Bar Bosch in Palma on Wednesday, the CAEB Restaurants Association signed up to the initiative. Bar and restaurant proprietors can, if they so wish, declare terraces smoke-free. Similar to smoke-free beaches in Mallorca and the Balearics, there cannot be any sanctions for ignoring the declaration, but it is designed to raise awareness and encourage people to collaborate.
The president of the AECC, Dr. José Reyes, observed that 73% of the population are non-smokers and that their protection should prevail.