- Two Spanish regions attracting tourists introduced outdoor smoking bans to curb the coronavirus as a top domestic medical body called for a more coordinated response and tougher punishment for rule breakers.
- Under a law which came into force at midnight in the northwestern region of Galicia, smokers are forbidden to remove face masks.
- The World Health Organization has said tobacco users could increase the possibility of transmission of the disease since it involves contact of fingers with the lips.
The Spanish region of Galicia has effectively banned smoking in public places over concerns it increases the risk of COVID-19 transmission, reports BBC.
It issued a blanket ban on smoking in the street and in public places, such as restaurants and bars, if social distancing is not possible.
The north-western region is the first to introduce such a measure, but the Canary Islands has since followed suit. It comes as Spain faces the worst infection rate in western Europe.
Smoking ban in Galicia
Daily cases have risen from fewer than 150 in June to more than 1,500 throughout August. It recorded 1,690 new cases in the latest daily count on Wednesday, bringing the country’s total to almost 330,000.
Galicia’s smoking ban was announced in a news conference on Wednesday after experts recommended the measure to the regional government.
The move is supported by health ministry research, published last month, that outlined the link between smoking and the increased spread of coronavirus.
- It said the risk was heightened because people project droplets – and potentially COVID-19 – when they exhale smoke.
- It also said smokers risked infection in other ways, such as by touching their cigarette before bringing it to their mouth and by handling face masks when taking them on and off.
The research also pointed to the wider negative health effects of smoking. “It has been proven that tobacco use, in any of its forms, worsens the course of respiratory diseases,” it said. “Current evidence indicates that smoking is associated with… a higher risk of developing a severe form of symptoms,” it added.
“Smoking with no limits… with people close by and without any social distancing [poses] a high risk of infection,” regional President Alberto Núñez Feijóo told the news conference.
“We know that this is an unpopular measure for smokers,” added Alberto Fernández Villar, a member of the clinical committee advising government, according to the El País newspaper. “But I believe we are in an exceptional situation.”
Ban on outdoor smoking
On Thursday, the Canary Islands announced a similar measure and banned smoking outdoors where social distancing cannot be guaranteed. It will come into force on Friday alongside another order that makes face masks mandatory in public spaces.
Officials in areas including Madrid, Andalusia and Valencia are also reported to be considering implementing smoking restrictions of their own.
Similar measures have been imposed elsewhere, such as in South Africa where the sale of tobacco was banned at the end of March.
It justified the ban on health grounds based on advice from its own medical experts as well as from the World Health Organization (WHO).
- In the UK, a survey showed that more than one million people had given up smoking since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
- UK government advice says smokers may be at risk of more severe COVID-19 symptoms.
Doctors say smokers are more likely to get respiratory infections, and are more likely to develop complications such as pneumonia at a later stage.
Tobacco smoke can transmit disease
Spain’s different layers of government provide “contradictory” figures about the virus which “give everyone the impression of a lack of coordination in the fight against the pandemic,” it added.
While the smoking bans were applauded by many medical experts, some questioned its effectiveness.
Fernando Garcia, an epidemiologist at the Carlos III institute for health, told AFP the measure was “a bit disproportionate” given the lack of evidence that “tobacco smoke can transmit the disease.”
The World Health Organization has said tobacco users could increase the possibility of transmission of the disease since it involves contact of fingers with the lips.
Outside Europe, South Africa has banned the sale of tobacco because it may lead people to drop social distancing while Jordan banned smoking in closed public spaces.
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Source: BBC
