Time Running Out For Smokers In The Canary Islands

The Canary Islands have been a smoker’s paradise for decades, but a new law intended to outlaw smoking even further is likely to have an effect on tourist behaviour.

The special tax regime on the Canary Islands imposes less duty on tobacco than the rest of Spain, which is already one of the cheapest countries to smoke in Europe. As a result, a smoker on Lanzarote can buy five cigarettes for the same price as they would pay for just one in the UK or Ireland. And plenty of islanders are happy to pay that price – a survey from last year reveals that 25% of Canarian adults smoke at least once a day, compared to 12% in the UK.

Those smokers also pay another price, however. The Canaries has the highest mortality rates attributable to smoking in Spain, with smoking-related illnesses causing around 15% of deaths.

Another advantage of the Canaries for smokers is that popping outside for a smoke is not usually a problem. While smokers in northern climes huddle in freezing doorways, Canarian smokers have been able to enjoy their ciggies on warm, pleasant outdoor terraces.

This has reduced the impact of the widespread indoor smoking bans that came into force in Spain around 20 years ago. Nevertheless, after initial opposition, the laws are now widely accepted and sights which were common 20 years ago, such as people smoking in a bar, or while waiting in a queue at the bank, are now unthinkable. If you wanted to smoke, you just nipped outside or sat on the terrace.

But not for much longer. Spain’s new antitobacco law intends to ban smoking on terraces, as well as in bus shelters, sports grounds and outdoor areas in educational establishments. Meanwhile, a 2022 law which allows local councils to ban smoking on beaches is also being applied by more and more Ayuntamientos, with Arrecife banning smoking on all of its beaches while Tías has prohibited it on Playa Chica.

The terrace ban is already attracting complaints from many Spanish bar and restaurant owners, many of whom say that they have prepared areas especially for smokers and that banning smoking should be an individual decision.

But Spain’s objective is clear – to stop smoking being seen as normal; to limit it in social situations and thus to reduce the health risks to both smokers and passive smokers.