Cristina Hodgson
FINES of €100-€3000 will be handed out to people who break the partial smoking ban, it has been announced.
Smoking within two metres of another person now has an additional price tag after it was made illegal in bid to fight COVID-19.
The protective measure, which came into force yesterday, will also punish premises which permit smoking when social distancing is not possible.
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According to the decree published in the BOJA, ‘you can not smoke on public roads or outdoor spaces when a minimum interpersonal distance of at least two metres cannot be maintained.’
The restriction also applies to the use of any other tobacco inhalation device, including a water pipe, bong, electronic cigarette and vaping.
In the event that smoking takes place on the terrace of a bar, both the smoker and the establishment are responsible and therefore the sanctions would go both ways.
If the establishment reports that a customer is refusing to extinguish a cigarette, only then would they be made exempt from a fine.
The sanction is now part of the new penalty regulations, which impose this monetary amount in the case of breaches that may directly or indirectly involve ‘a risk or slight damage to the health of the population.’
The Regional Ministry of Health said that though the focus is on the consumption of tobacco on the terraces of premises, the new rules apply to all outdoor spaces.
Authorities have not yet revealed how many, if any, sanctions were imposed in Malaga on Monday.
