Around twenty scientific societies from the Islands and national ones, such as medical, dental, nursing and pharmaceutical associations of the Canary Islands, as well as Spanish and international tobacco prevention organizations and patient associations, convey to the Minister of Health of the Canary Islands their "concern and disagreement" about lifting the ban on smoking on terraces. "The terraces of hospitality establishments must continue to be safe places for health," they say.
They demand that the terraces of the hospitality industry be declared "permanently" as a place "free of smoke and electronic cigarette aerosols". "Lifting the ban on smoking on terraces is a senseless step backwards. Protecting the health of all citizens is an obligation that the Autonomous Communities have," the societies point out, adding that the right to health "is above all else."
They also point out that the child and non-smoking population "was protected and safe from the harmful effects of tobacco smoke", so they point out that removing the measure prohibiting smoking on terraces, "will have a great impact on the physical and mental health of the Canarian population and its visitors."
"Eliminating the ban on smoking on terraces means losing the opportunity to fight against the tobacco pandemic, which kills more than 60,000 people a year in Spain, a figure even higher than the deaths from Covid-19 in our country," the societies lament.
This initiative is led in Spain and the Canary Islands by the citizen association Nofumadores.org, from where they fight for the right "to live a life without tobacco smoke or aerosols."
Various organizations participate in this initiative, such as the College of Physicians of Las Palmas, the College of Dentists of Las Palmas, the College of Dentists of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Official College of Nursing of Las Palmas, the Council of Pharmaceutical Associations of the Canary Islands, as well as the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR).
The Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), the Spanish Society of Specialists in Smoking (SEDET), the WHO Collaborating Center for Tobacco Control / Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), the Spanish Society of Family and Community Medicine (SEMFyC), Federation of Associations of Family and Community Nursing (FAECAP), Coordinator of the XQNS Citizen Initiative to improve the Tobacco Law in Spain, Nofumadores.org citizen association and Association of Patients with COPD (APEPOC), Action on Smoking & Health (ASH), FACUA Consumers in Action and European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP) also participate.
