Tourists who smoke on any of Barcelona’s beaches now face fines, since a ban on lighting up on the sand was approved at a full council meeting.
The Catalan capital has become Spain’s first large city to outlaw smoking on all its beaches, following a pilot scheme banning it in four areas: Sant Miquel, Somorrostro, Nova Icaria and Nova Marbella.
Smoking sunbathers will now be fined 30 euros, around £25, on 10 beaches affected by the new rules that cover over three miles of coastline.
Eloi Badia, Councillor for Ecological Transition, said: “Last year no one was fined [during the pilot]. 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 have extended the ban for health reasons and to appease the majority of beachgoers.
They also pointed to scientific evidence that shows 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 which is likely to include a ban on lighting up in private cars too 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.
The number of beaches where smoking is banned in Spain has jumped from around 15 in the summer of 2014 to around 550 at present.
They include 13 beaches in the Malaga province stretch of the Costa del Sol and seven in Mallorca.
Smoking is also banned on around 25 per cent of Costa Blanca’s beaches, although most fines are not handed out to those who light up.
The exceptions include Finestrat Cove, an urban cove of fine sand around two miles from Benidorm, where fines for smoking and vaping can reach 750 euros.
