Spanish health ministry urged to ban smoking in vehicles

Spain’s anti-smoking body has called on the health ministry to expand smoke-free areas, including a ban on smoking in personal vehicles owned by minors, in response to European Union recommendations to ban smoking in outdoor Spaces.

Spanish health ministry urged to ban smoking in vehicles

Spain’s anti-smoking body has urged the Health Ministry to expand smoke-free zones further to include personal cars with minors present. The call comes after the European Union proposed banning smoking in outdoor Spaces such as terraces and beaches.

Noa Rey, secretary of the National Council for the Prevention of Smoking (CNPT), said she thought the decision adopted by European health ministers was “very positive” and “very reasonable” in effectively protecting the majority of non-smokers and helping “abnormal” smoking.

Under the framework of the Assembly of EU Health Ministers, the proposal aims to expand the scope of the 2009 European proposal and designate open Spaces such as playgrounds, dining terraces, bus stops, beaches, and swimming pools as smoke-free zones.

The recommendation covers all new tobacco products and invites member states to “explore” anti-smoking measures in the presence of minors and vulnerable groups in private cars. Although the Spanish Health Ministry’s recent anti-cigarette plan does not explicitly mention a ban on smoking in cars, “it is a practical and necessary measure,” Ray said.

As these products were developed by the tobacco industry to attract a new generation of young consumers, CNPT agreed to include e-cigarettes and other new tobacco products in the laws and regulations.

The Nofumadores.org platform also urged the head of the Ministry of Health, Monica Garcia, to be “ambitious” in the reforms. President Raquel Gonzalez said: “The European support for smoke-free Spaces is a very good sign, especially including e-smoke aerosol.”

Florentino Perez Raya, president of the Spanish General Council of Nursing (CGE), “effective measures to protect the younger generation from these harmful substances,” inspired the Ministry of Health to ban smoking in cars.