Tag: Spain

Spain: Smoking Drops to Record Low

Smoking rates in Spain have dropped to a record low, reports Euro Weekly News.
In 2024, 25.84 percent of the population smoked, down from 33.1 percent in 2022. Health advocates credit successful government initiatives, including higher taxes on tobacco products, stronger restrictions on tobacco advertising, the expansion of smoke-free zones to include public outdoor areas, and increased funding for smoking cessation services.
Despite these recent declines, tobacco remains a major public health issue in Spain. The Spanish Ministry of Health attributes nearly 50,000 deaths annually to smoking-related illnesses, accounting for nearly 15 percent of all deaths in the country.
Meanwhile, the decline in cigarette smoking has been accompanied by a surge vaping. The number of e-cigarette users has doubled in the past four years, with 19 percent of Spaniards having tried them. Over half of e-cigarette users are opting for nicotine-free versions.
In response to this shift, the Spanish government is introducing new regulations to curb e-cigarette usage, including banning e-cigarettes in indoor public spaces, restricting flavored e-liquids, and limiting them to tobacco flavors. It is also considering plain packaging for e-cigarette products, and discussing the introduction of taxes on e-liquids to mirror tobacco taxes.
December 5, 2024
Spain Starts Consultation on Flavor Ban

Image: MSCT
Spain has started a public consultation on new rules for vaping devices, reports Sur.
The proposed legislation would ban the ban on the use of non-tobacco flavorings in e-cigarettes with the goal of making these products less attractive to young people.
The decree also aims to regulate the labeling of electronic cigarettes without nicotine. As with traditional tobacco, they will have to have a list of ingredients and health warnings indicating that their consumption is harmful to health.
They will also have to include a leaflet with information on contraindications and possible adverse effects.
November 25, 2024
Sophisticated Illegal Factory Dismantled in Spain

Image: Paco Ayala
Authorities dismantled a large a large counterfeit cigarette factory in Spain’s Malaga province, reports Sur.
Guardia Civil officers confiscated 1,448 packs of counterfeit cigarettes from the facility, which operated 24 hours a day and distributed cigarettes throughout Spain. The illegal factory counterfeited four internationally known brands and had an estimated turnover of €4 million ($4.2 million) a month.
Police were impressed by the operation’s level of sophistication. The facility was powered by a self-contained generator and stored 500 liters of fuel. To avoid detection, the factory operators had soundproofed the generator and made an exhaust pipe to expel the gases.
In addition to the finished cigarettes, authorities confiscated a large amount of materials such as paper, filters and machinery, along with printing plates with the names of the commercial brands and packets ready to be assembled.
November 14, 2024
Habanos Presents 2024 Upmann Magnum Finite LE

The launch of the H. Upmann Magnum Finite Limited Edition 2024 vitola took place in one of the most iconic locations in the Spanish capital—the arches and inner gates of the Las Ventas bullring, a space filled with charm, history and culture.
Habanos S.A., the distribution arm of Cuban cigars, together with its partner and exclusive distributor for the Spanish market, Tabacalera S.L.U., presented the new vitola at the event organized by the Club Pasion Habanos under the name El ruedo de H. Upmann.
“The H. Upmann Magnum Finite Limited Edition 2024 (53 ring gauge x 130 mm length) stands out not only for its elegance but also for its exclusivity. It is a vitola designed for aficionados seeking a unique and sophisticated experience, combining the heritage and brand’s tradition, its refined Habanos, with a light to medium strength, and the characteristic aging of at least two years for limited editions,” a Habanos release states. “H. Upmann Magnum Finite is the result of a meticulous crafting process, using wrapper, filler and binder leaves from the Vuelta Abajo plantations, where the world’s best tobacco is produced, in Pinar del Rio region, Cuba.”
Magnum Finite comes in an exclusive box of 25 units. The flavor is creamy, woody, toasted and earthy with vegetal and mineral hints, ripe fruit, sweetness and light spices, leaving a finish of hay, smoked cedar, damp earth, moss, iodine hints, dried plum, vanilla, nutmeg and molasses.
Its aroma is tobacco, woody, toasted, herbal, ripe fruit, spicy and sweet, smoked cedar, leather, raisin, coffee, cocoa, clove, vanilla and molasses.
October 28, 2024
Spain Urged to Keep Vape Flavors Legal

Photo: nyker
The Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA) has asked Spain to refrain from banning flavored vapes.
According to the group, the proposed measure presents several risks.
“The effective ban of e-liquids in the Spanish market will lead to a boom in black market activities with dangerous, non–compliant products,” the IEVA wrote in a statement.
In addition, the group warned, it will cause a rise in smoking rates and put at risk more than 3,000 jobs in the Spanish vaping industry, leading to a reduction in government revenues by reducing tax collection.
The IEVA shared its concerns in a contribution to the public consultation that is currently underway.
May 11, 2024
Spain Approves Anti-Smoking Plan

Photo: nyker
Spain has approved a new anti-smoking plan that will expand the number of places where smoking is prohibited, implement a sharp increase in tobacco taxes and place vapers in the same category as conventional smokers as “deterrent” measures, according to Eurasia Review.
The document was approved April 5 by the Spanish Health Ministry and will be included in a new legislative package to be formally approved in Parliament.
“As of today [Friday, April 5], this plan is a reality, and this achievement is a source of national pride,” said Health Minister Monica Garcia, a member of the left-wing Sumar platform, a junior partner in Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s coalition government.
The document is an update to the current 14-year-old plan and aims at reducing the number of smokers, protecting public health and preventing new tobacco consumers.
The Plan for the Prevention and Control of Smoking 2024–2027 has five main objectives: preventing the onset of smoking, encouraging smoking cessation and facilitating help to stop smoking, reducing environmental exposure to tobacco emissions and related products in public and private spaces, and promoting applied research and monitoring in tobacco control as well as promoting coordination and the establishment of anti-tobacco alliances.
There is a question of whether in the near future smoking will be banned on bar and restaurant terraces; the leisure and tourism sector accounts for 13 percent of Spain’s national GDP.
The plan includes the “legislative extension of smoke-free and e-cigarette aerosol-free spaces in certain community and social outdoor environments,” but there is no current ban only a “recommendation” not to smoke in these public spaces.
An increase in tobacco taxes is expected. Since 2005, tobacco taxes have increased by 122 percent.
The plan also includes generic or neutral packaging for tobacco products—unattractive color, brand name in Arial typeface and in smaller font size to allow for larger health warnings such as “smoking kills” or “tobacco kills.”
Additives that “give flavors to tobacco and related products (in line with what the EU agrees)” will also be banned under the new plan.

April 12, 2024
Spain Bans Flavors for Heated Tobacco

Credit: Jorge Argazkiak
The government in Spain has approved a decree that equates the regulation of heated tobacco products with that of traditional cigarettes, prohibiting products with flavorings. The rules do not apply to all vaping products, such as e-cigarettes.
In addition, it will now be mandatory for labels to contain warnings for heated tobacco products that they products are harmful to health, according to Catalan News.
The country’s Ministry of Health is considering further regulations.
“The ban will cover tobacco products with an aroma or flavor in their components (such as filters, papers, packaging, or capsules) or any other technique that allows modifying the smell or taste of the products or intensify the smoke. Filters, papers and capsules cannot contain tobacco or nicotine,” the report states.
Heated tobacco products must include the following informative message on their outer packaging: “Tobacco smoke contains more than 70 carcinogenic substances,” with relevant accompanying photographs.
This decree will enter into force three months after its publication in the official state gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado).
January 16, 2024
Canary Islands to Revise Tobacco Tax Law

Image: Comugnero Silvana
The Canary Islands plans to revise its tobacco products tax law in 2024, according to 2Firsts.
Beginning next year, e-cigarette products and e-cigarette juices will be subject to a tax of €0.10 ($0.10) per milliliter with the revenue being incorporated into the 2024 budget proposal.
Implementing this tax will make the Canary Islands the first Spanish autonomous community to impose a specific tax on tobacco products.
The tax will affect e-cigarette devices and liquids regardless of nicotine content.
A Ministry of Health report titled E-Cigarette Tax Review: European Regulations and Potential Scenarios in Spain predicts that the impending tax could increase national public revenue from €7 million to €48 million.
The revised bill will also increase the tax rate for cigars and small cigars to 4 percent from 2 percent and increase the tax rate for other tobacco products to 10 percent from 5 percent.
December 1, 2023
THR Summit to Take Place in Spain

Image: somartin | Adobe Stock
The Tobacco Harm Reduction Summit Spain 2023 is scheduled to take place Feb. 23, 2023, in Madrid at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos.
The Tobacco Harm Reduction Summit Spain 2023 aims to provide a space for evaluation and debate on the impact that harm reduction strategies can have in the field of smoking, offering a range of international perspectives ranging from scientific analysis of the issue to its political and regulatory implications, according to the website. It provides a forum to contribute to the generation of new proposals for tackling the problem of smoking, providing new points of reflection for scientists, professionals, technical and political decision-makers.
February 14, 2023
Smugglers Create Diplomatic Dispute

Image: bennymarty | Adobe Stock
Tobacco smugglers fleeing customs agents have caused a minor diplomatic incident between Gibraltar and Spain, reports Reuters.
Gibraltar accused Spain of a “gross violation of British sovereignty” after two customs officials entered the territory during an anti-smuggling operation. Spanish media reported that the Spanish customs agents’ boat lost power while chasing the tobacco smugglers.
Gibraltar’s chief minister, Fabian Picardo, said the facts of the incident need to be investigated before diplomatic action is taken; rocks were reportedly thrown at the customs agents, and a video of the incident shows potential shots fired, but it is unclear who fired them.
Spain’s foreign ministry condemned the attack on the customs agents, who suffered “serious injuries” and said it “categorically rejects the terms” of the statement issued by Gibraltar “as well as the claims of alleged British sovereignty over the territory and waters of Gibraltar contained within it.”
Britain and Gibraltar are in the process of negotiating a treaty to settle Gibraltar’s post-Brexit status and decide how to police the border with Spain.
February 7, 2023