International Resource Center

A new study published in Tobacco Control found that the tobacco industry undermined smoke-free legislation in Spain and is currently trying to promote Spain’s weak law abroad.

The study, Legislating Tolerance: Spain’s National Public Smoking Law, describes the tobacco industry’s efforts from the 1980s to the early 2000s to influence smoke-free policies in Spain.

Spain’s 2006 law allows separate seating sections and ventilation options in certain public places such as bars and restaurants, hotels, and airports. Spain does not meet the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 8 Guidelines which mandate 100 percent smoke-free legislation.

The study concludes that Spain should enact smoke-free legislation that meets the requirements of the FCTC providing protection against tobacco smoke for all people.

Countries currently considering smoke-free legislation should be aware of the tobacco industry’s attempts to use Spain’s weak law as a legislative model and protect tobacco control policies from industry interference.

Study Findings

The study analyzed internal tobacco industry documents and found:

• Tobacco companies fought smoking restrictions in Spain for decades by promoting separate seating for smokers and ineffective ventilation technologies, supporting unenforceable voluntary agreements with local governments, and influencing ventilation standard setting.
• Spain’s ineffective law is currently being used as a legislative model by the tobacco industry in other countries such as Guatemala and the Czech Republic.

Key Messages

• FCTC Article 8 Guidelines state that the only effective measure to protect people from deadly secondhand smoke exposure is to create 100 percent smoke-free environments. Separate smoking rooms and air filtration or ventilation measures do not effectively protect people from second hand smoke.
• Tobacco control advocates and policy makers should be aware of the tobacco industry’s attempts to use Spain’s smoke-free law as a legislative model, monitor the tobacco control legislative process, and protect tobacco control policies from industry interference.

Full citation: Muggli ME, Lockhart NJ, Ebbert JO, Jiménez-Ruiz CA, Miranda AR, Hurt RD. Legislating tolerance: Spain’s national public smoking law. Tobacco Control. Oct 2009.

If you have questions about the study or how you may use it in your advocacy efforts, please contact Miranda Wang.