Smoking has been banned on all of Barcelona's beaches and those breaking the rules have been warned they face fines.
Four beaches became non-smoking areas last year as part of a well-received pilot scheme, with the smoking ban now being extended to all ten beaches along Barcelona's coastline.
Although the ban will come into force in July, Barcelona's city council has said a communications campaign will be launching this month to start raising awareness.
The council has said trial attracted a score of 8.2 points out of 10 from citizens and led to a significant reduction in the number of cigarette butts left in the sand, which are highly pollutant.
Catalan media are reporting that 20 per cent of the population in Barcelona smoke, but that only 10 per cent do so at the beach.
The ten beaches affected by the new rule cover just over three miles of coastline, with fines for anyone breaching the ban being set at €30, which is about £25.
Eloi Badia, Councillor for Ecological Transition, said: “Last year no-one was fined.
“Everyone understood the situation perfectly and only the odd absent-minded smoker had to be asked to move on to the promenade."
Barcelona council chiefs say they are extending the ban for health reasons and to appease the majority of beach users and point to scientific evidence showing cigarette butts take around a decade to disappear.
The Spanish government has proposed measures to extend the current prohibition on smoking in public places to include terraces and beaches.
But the ambitious new anti-smoking law being worked on, which is also expected to include a ban on lighting up in private cars, is not expected to be fully drafted until 2023.
The country’s Health Ministry also wants to push up the price of tobacco through extra taxes.
Spain’s tobacco control legislation currently prohibits smoking in many indoor public places.
Cafe and bar owners are expected to mount a vigorous campaign against any change to the current laws.
Jose Luis Yzuel, President of the Hospitality Industry of Spain, accused the government of hypocrisy earlier this year.
He said: “On the one hand the State collects hundreds of millions of pounds in taxes from tobacco and instead of raising awareness and respecting the freedom of businesses, it bans it.
“They create an issue with our customers when right now there is no problem.”
