Spain’s Council of Ministers approved a draft anti-tobacco law on Tuesday that would dramatically expand smoke-free zones across the country, sending the measure to a fragmented parliament for debate. If enacted, the legislation would outlaw smoking and vaping on all restaurant and bar terraces, beaches, public swimming pools, sports grounds, and in the immediate vicinity of schools and hospitals. The cabinet’s approval triggers a legislative process with no guaranteed outcome: Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s left-wing minority government must secure support from other parties to pass the bill, and the hospitality sector has already signalled fierce resistance.

The draft law erases the distinction between traditional cigarettes and newer nicotine products, subjecting e-cigarettes, vapes, and nicotine pouches to the same restrictions. It also introduces an explicit ban on consumption by anyone under 18—previously only sales to minors were prohibited—and empowers authorities to fine parents or guardians at least €200 for underage use, with the option of community service. Advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of all tobacco-related products would be banned across all media, including online platforms and vending machines, while the sale of vapes would be confined to specialist shops. Fines for serious breaches could reach €600,000.

Hospitality groups, particularly in tourism-dependent coastal regions, have condemned the proposal. The president of Hostelería de España, José Luis Álvarez, described the terrace ban as “absurd” for “the most touristic country in Europe,” arguing it would merely displace smokers rather than reduce consumption. Health officials in Madrid counter that the measure is designed to protect non-smokers, especially pregnant women and asthmatics, from passive exposure in shared outdoor spaces. Medical societies, including the Spanish Society of Pneumology and Thoracic Surgery, have long advocated such steps, citing official data that attribute around 50,000 deaths annually to tobacco use and note that 26% of adults smoke daily. Among adolescents, while daily smoking has fallen to a historic low of 4.3%, nearly half of 14- to 18-year-olds have tried e-cigarettes.

The bill now begins its passage through the Cortes Generales, where it can be amended. The government aims to secure final approval before the end of the legislative term, but the lack of a parliamentary majority leaves the timeline uncertain. The draft also revives a national tobacco prevention observatory, abolished in 2014, to coordinate policy. The next concrete milestone will be the bill’s first reading in the Congress of Deputies, where the hospitality sector is expected to lobby lawmakers intensively.