The Council of Ministers will likely approve today the tobacco bill, which, among other issues, expands the spaces where neither smoking nor vaping is allowed, such as bar terraces, venues where public shows take place, sports facilities, playgrounds, transport stations, or educational centers, including university campuses, among others. This reform is part of the development of the Comprehensive Plan for Tobacco Prevention and Control 2024-2027.
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Ley antitabaco
One of the fundamental aspects of this law, which is now being sent to Congress, is the inclusion of a definition and specific regulation for tobacco-related products.
These are items whose presence in the market and consumption, especially among young people, have increased significantly in recent years and which, although they do not always contain tobacco or nicotine, are linked to the act of smoking or inhaling, as well as increasing the risk of smoking conventional tobacco. Until now, these products did not have a clearly established regulatory framework at the national level.
The reform equates electronic cigarettes, shishas, and nicotine pouches with traditional cigarettes
These are electronic cigarettes, with or without nicotine, including all their components (cartridge, tank, device).
Also nicotine pouches for oral use, composed wholly or partially of natural or synthetic nicotine, in the form of sachets, powder, or tablets, and herbal products used for smoking, vaporizing, or inhaling, such as shishas or tobacco-free herbal blends. The regulation includes devices for the consumption of heated products, including those that operate with tobacco or other preparations.
All these products will be subject to the same legal restrictions as conventional tobacco, meaning it will not be allowed to smoke or use these products in enclosed public spaces and in an expanded list of outdoor environments, such as bar terraces, venues where public shows take place, sports facilities, playgrounds, transport stations, or educational centers, among others. They cannot be sold to minors.
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The law expands smoke-free spaces to collective use areas, both indoors and outdoors
All forms of advertising, promotion, and sponsorship, direct or indirect, in any media, including the digital realm, of all these products are prohibited, and labeling will be required to provide information about nicotine content and product characteristics.
The regulation includes new prohibitions that respond both to scientific evidence and social demand. Thus, the law expressly prohibits the consumption of tobacco and related products by minors.
The law expands the spaces where smoking is prohibited and incorporates new collective use environments, both indoors and outdoors, in line with the recommendations of the European Commission, including the exteriors of health, educational, university, and social centers; playgrounds and cultural or sports areas; bar terraces, transport stations, outdoor shows and concerts, and vehicles with drivers.
Signs, posters, urban or hospitality furniture of tobacco brands and related products are prohibited
The text proposed by the Government substantially modifies the regime applicable to advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of tobacco products and related products. It establishes the prohibition of all forms of advertising, direct or indirect, including any type of commercial communication or promotion of tobacco products and related products, whether through print, audiovisual, digital media, social networks, or through distribution of samples or discounts.
It also expressly prohibits advertising on equipment, facilities, and furniture located in public or collective use spaces, which includes elements present in bars, nightclubs, terraces, or other leisure establishments. This includes signs, posters, urban or hospitality furniture that incorporates logos, images, or references to tobacco product brands or related products.
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