Spain's new smoking law – Fair or too far? episode artwork

EPISODE · Oct 24, 2025 · 26 MIN

Spain's new smoking law – Fair or too far?

from Filling the Sink · host catalannews

It's a familiar scene across Catalonia: someone sitting outside a café, enjoying a coffee and smoking a cigarette. But it could soon be consigned to the history books, if Spain pushes ahead with a new bill banning smoking and vaping on terraces. On this episode of Filling the Sink, Gerard Escaich Folch joins Lorcan Doherty to talk about Spain's proposed smoking law. Catalonia's Secretary of Public Health, Esteve Fernández, and the head of the Association Against Cancer in Barcelona, Dr Laureano Molins, explain why the law on smoking needs to be changed, and what measures they would like to see included in the final version.   Joaquim Boadas, the secretary general of both FECASARM (Catalan Federation of Hospitality, Restaurants, and Nightclubs) and Spain Nightlife, outlines the hospitality sector's concerns over one of the most talked-about aspects of the legislation – a smoking ban for cafe, bar and restaurant terraces. Plus, we hit the streets of Barcelona to find out what smokers and non-smokers alike think of the proposed legislation. 

It's a familiar scene across Catalonia: someone sitting outside a café, enjoying a coffee and smoking a cigarette. But it could soon be consigned to the history books, if Spain pushes ahead with a new bill banning smoking and vaping on terraces. On this episode of Filling the Sink, Gerard Escaich Folch joins Lorcan Doherty to talk about Spain's proposed smoking law. Catalonia's Secretary of Public Health, Esteve Fernández, and the head of the Association Against Cancer in Barcelona, Dr Laureano Molins, explain why the law on smoking needs to be changed, and what measures they would like to see included in the final version.   Joaquim Boadas, the secretary general of both FECASARM (Catalan Federation of Hospitality, Restaurants, and Nightclubs) and Spain Nightlife, outlines the hospitality sector's concerns over one of the most talked-about aspects of the legislation – a smoking ban for cafe, bar and restaurant terraces. Plus, we hit the streets of Barcelona to find out what smokers and non-smokers alike think of the proposed legislation.

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Spain's new smoking law – Fair or too far?

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It's a familiar scene across Catalonia: someone sitting outside a café, enjoying a coffee and smoking a cigarette. But it could soon be consigned to the history books, if Spain pushes ahead with a new bill banning smoking and vaping on terraces. On...

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