Alex Trelinski
TWO of Benidorm’s best-known beaches have banned tobacco smoking.
The change covers the Levante and Poniente beaches thanks to an agreement signed between the the City Council and the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) which turns them into ‘smoke-free spaces’.
Benidorm’s beaches councillor, Monica Gomez, said that smoking kills around 60,000 people annually in Spain.
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“It is therefore the responsibility of public administrations to ensure the well-being and health of citizens”, she stated.
Gomez said the move aims to ‘create an environment free of harmful tobacco smoke’ by warning of the danger posed to smokers, ‘and also to passive smokers’, of exposure to tobacco.
Benidorm City Council has published produced posters advertising the move as a ‘healthy initiative’ to prevent cancer.
Monica Gomez explained that the AECC agreement will go further than just the beaches and they are studying expanding the ban to other municipal areas.
The city’s department of Parks and Gardens will also create spaces where tobacco is banned and healthy habits are promoted.
“It is about raising awareness, sensitising and telling citizens about the need to stop smoking and helping people to quit a habit that causes enormous damage and affects patients and their families,” Gomez concluded.
