The Spanish government has moved to ban disposable vapes and a multitude of flavours.
Secretary of State for Health Javier Padilla has said that in the coming weeks "the draft amendment to Royal Decree 579/2017 will be available, which will include a ban on disposable electronic cigarettes.”
He said the decision had been made due to disposable vapes being ‘harmful to health and to the environment.’
Mr Padilla added that the proposed law will include a ban on flavoured vapes.
Spain’s high smoking rates
In Spain, more than a half a million people vape, according to Knowledge-Action-Change’s recent Global State of Harm Reduction report. This equates to around 1.3 percent of the adult population - only about a quarter France’s vaping rate.
However, Spain’s smoking rate is fairly high, at almost 28 percent of the adult population - more than 11 million people. More than 57,000 people in Spain die from smoking-related disease annually.
Vaping advocates argue that Spain needs flavoured vaping products, as they are far more effective as a switching tool for smokers than those that are traditional tobacco flavoured. Most adult vapers who have stopped smoking successfully say they prefer non-tobacco flavours.
The latest announcement was made during a meeting on Monday at the Nueva Economía Fórum in Madrid, held by Minister of Health Mónica García.
The ‘gateway’ theory
Mr Padilla said disposable vapes are a “gateway” for young people to get into the far more harmful habit of smoking, although evidence shows this not to be the case.
He plans to push through with new legislation on vaping, saying: "Three transformations must be made: the Public Health Strategy Law approved in June 2022, the creation of the public health surveillance network that was recently approved by the Council of Ministers and the creation of a State Public Health Agency that will be approved soon and there is a consensus for it to be issued."
The health secretary said that meanwhile, the country’s Comprehensive Plan for the Prevention and Control of Smoking had also already been passed by the Council of Ministers. He said: "It achieved a good consensus and a good opinion from the autonomous communities in the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System."
Mr Padilla added: "We are going to take the next step, which is the modification of Royal Decree 579/2017, which deals with the elements of the manufacture, presentation and marketing of tobacco products and their derivatives."
Meanwhile, Spain is preparing to expand the number of places where smoking is prohibited.
Mr Padilla said: "During the first quarter of 2025, the reform of Law 28/2005 on tobacco, which includes smoke-free spaces, will be approved. When the text is published, we will see how each of the spaces is specifically substantiated."
