El Palmeral beach becomes smoke-free

El Palmeral beach in El Zapillo will become the first smoke-free beach in the capital of Almeria.

The City Council has applied to join the smoke-free program initiated by the Department of Health and Consumption of the Andalusian Government.

This move, announced by Sacramento Sanchez, spokesperson for the government and councillor for Public Works, aims to extend the initiative to other beaches along Almería’s coast.

During the September Plenary Session, Sanchez explained that although the City Council couldn’t implement the smoke-free initiative at the start of this summer, they distributed 3,000 reusable ashtrays as part of an awareness campaign against cigarette butts on the beaches.

The initiative is part of a larger plan to reduce smoking on all Almeria beaches.

The program, in place since 2019, focuses on educating and raising awareness to eliminate smoking in public spaces, including beaches and swimming pools, throughout Andalusia.

Smoking in these areas will be discouraged, but enforcement will rely on voluntary compliance, without penalties for non-compliance.

Almeria follows the lead of 13 other municipalities that have already joined the smoke-free initiative, including San Nicolas beach in Adra, Pozo del Esparto Quitapellejos-Palomares in Cuevas de Almanzora, and San Jose beach in Nijar.

Vera’s popular beaches, such as Cala Marques, El Playazo, Las Marinas-Bolaga, and Puerto Rey, are already smoke-free.

Municipal pools in Purchena, Velez-Rubio, and Viator have also adopted the smoke-free policy.

Regarding the recovery of the El Perdigal area and its beach, the ruling People’s Party (PP) rejected a motion from Podemos, though Sanchez assured that the City Council is in talks with the national government to coordinate efforts to improve the area.

This initiative is part of Almeria’s broader efforts to promote healthier, smoke-free public spaces, following the lead of other coastal towns in the region.

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