Spanish region outlaws smoking in the street to halt airborne infection

THE Spanish region of Galicia has brought in a de facto ban on smoking in outdoor public spaces in an attempt to reduce the transmission of Covid-19, a move set to be followed by several other regional governments.

Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the president of Galicia, said smokers and vapers would now not be allowed to puff in the street or when seated at a terrace café unless they could be sure of keeping a distance of two metres.

Similar measures have been imposed in other parts of the world, most notably in South Africa, which banned tobacco sales in March. The links between smoking and coronavirus have been the focus of considerable attention, both in terms of transmission and severity of the disease.

Spain recorded a dramatic leap in its daily number of infections yesterday, reporting 2,935 up from 1,690 the previous day.

Mr Núñez Feijóo said the Galician decision had been based on scientific advice to the effect that smoking could help spread the respiratory illness.

“Several members of our clinical committee agreed that smoking without any restrictions, without observing a safety distance, be it at an outdoor bar with people close by or in other crowded areas, constitutes a high risk of infection,” the Galician leader said.

Smokers caught flouting the ban will be expected to pay a €100 (£90) fine, the same penalty as that handed out for not wearing a mask in a public place.

The Canary Islands said it would also enact a ban from today, while several other Spanish regions revealed that they were preparing to follow suit, including Andalusia, Castilla-la Mancha and Castilla y León.

Officials from Madrid, Valencia, Navarre and Asturias said the possibility of a ban on smoking in public was also on the table.

Spain’s national health service recommended a ban on smoking in public last month, noting the need to adjust face masks and the possibility of smokers expelling Covid-infected droplets. The recommendation paper also says that smokers are more likely to develop severe health problems if they contract Covid-19.

“We know that smokers with Covid-19 have a greater viral load and are potentially bigger spreaders,” said Alberto Fernández Villar, head of the pneumology department at Vigo hospital, and a member of the Galician government’s clinical committee.

Dr Fernández Villar told El País that the risk of Covid developing into a severe pneumonia was “five to eight times greater” among smokers.

Linda Bauld, professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, said there was no published research showing that Sars-cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, could be spread through smoke or vape.

But she added: “Given the evidence that the virus is airborne as well as transmitted through droplets it’s not outwith the realms of possibility.”