The University of the Balearics (UIB) has banned smoking and the use of related products, such as electronic nicotine delivery systems or oral tobacco, on the terraces of the cafés in its buildings.
The measure was recently approved by the university’s Governing Board. The ban, the UIB and the AECC stated in a press release, will help reduce involuntary exposure to smoke and promote healthier lifestyles within the university community.
All terraces will display signage reminding people of the ban on consuming any type of tobacco-related product and ensuring compliance with the measure. The measure is in line with national and regional public health regulations, as well as with the European Union’s (EU) recommendations on smoke-free environments.
And, the Nofumadores.org platform is calling on Spain to follow the UK’s example and impose a lifetime ban on the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009, with the aim of establishing a ‘smoke-free generation’ model. In a press release, Raquel Fernández Megina, president of Nofumadores.org, calls on the government to include the phasing out of the sale of tobacco and nicotine products to those born on or after 2009 in the amendment to the tobacco law, which is currently before parliament.
She therefore calls on Spanish political parties to “show the necessary vision to reach the same consensus as that achieved by MPs in the UK, and thus protect future generations from an addiction that continues to be promoted by the tobacco industry”. This organisation describes the measure adopted by the UK Parliament – which, pending royal assent, is expected to come into force next year – as a “historic intervention on a par with the abolition of slavery by the British Parliament in 1807, aimed at preventing the leading cause of preventable mortality and reducing the enormous health burden of a product that disregards human life”.
Nofumadores.org points out that its call for Spain to adopt this measure dates back to 2020, as “tobacco cannot continue to be a normalised consumer product”, states Fernández Megina, who supports this initiative because “the generational ban does not criminalise current smokers, but protects those who have not yet been exposed to addiction”.
He adds that ‘nor does it constitute discrimination or a lack of equality, but rather a regulation of the sale of a highly addictive product that can be compared to the current ban on selling it to those under 18’. Among the organisation’s demands are also tighter regulations on vapers and new nicotine devices, banning flavours and single-use products, as well as expanding smoke-free areas (including terraces and children’s environments) and “shielding legislation from interference by the tobacco industry”.
In this regard, the statement adds: “The Canary Islands’ status as a major exporter, bolstered by a favourable tax regime for tobacco and regulations that differ from the rest of Spain, together with tobacco production in Extremadura, gives the tobacco industry significant lobbying power in our country”, which prevents the adoption of effective measures.