When Gauden Galea (Malta, 1960) was studying medicine at the University of Malta, he was drawn to the idea of implementing measures to improve the health of an entire population instead of focusing on a single patient. And he has dedicated the last thirty years of his career to defending and working for this idea. Today he is one of the most authoritative voices in prevention and public health at the World Health Organization (WHO), from where he has led the fight against chronic non-communicable diseases on a global scale. Furthermore, he has been a key figure in responding to international health crises, such as during the covid pandemic.

Rosalía smokes a cigarette during an interview in an enclosed space and ends up reported. The Catalan singer went to the podcast of the youtuber Esty Quesada, better known as Soy una Pringada. During the recording, the artist decided to interrupt the conversation to smoke and invited the presenter to share the cigarette. Quesada, despite saying she was not a smoker, decided to accept because she "likes to talk between puffs". But this scene of both of them smoking has had consequences: the Nofumadores.org platform has decided to file a formal complaint.

Teenagers are drinking less alcohol and smoking less, both tobacco and cannabis. In fact, consumption of these two substances is at historic lows among 14- to 18-year-olds since records began in Spain in 1988. Meanwhile, alcohol consumption continues its downward trend of recent years, matching its lowest point, which was recorded in 2021. This is according to the Ministry of Health's survey of secondary school students. "Young people in our country have the healthiest habits of the last 25 years. The new generations are changing; they are increasingly aware of the risks and are taking better care of themselves," said Minister Mónica García. She also made it clear that there are still challenges to overcome, such as reducing the prevalence of alcohol consumption and making progress in controlling new tobacco products.

Generic tobacco packages, with neutral packaging so that all brands have the same appearance and are less attractive to buyers. This was one of the key measures that Health Minister Mónica García wanted to add to the anti-smoking law, but due to a lack of agreement within the coalition government, she was unable to do so. It fell from the text approved by the Council of Ministers on Tuesday.. Just two days later, García clarified that they will try to reinstate this measure during the bill's processing.

The Spanish government is taking another step toward tightening the anti-smoking law. The Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday the draft law that expands smoke-free zones, including bar and restaurant terraces, cars, and public parks. The future legislation also includes new forms of smoking, such as heated tobacco and vaping, which until now were unregulated, and bans disposable e-cigarettes. This is not the final text of the new anti-smoking law, which must undergo a final review by Pedro Sánchez's administration before reaching the Congress of Deputies, where the different parliamentary groups will debate whether and how it will ultimately be approved. Therefore, there is still a long way to go to achieve one of the priority objectives of the Ministry of Health in this term: increasing restrictions on smoking, preventing new generations from falling into this addictive habit, and reducing the number of smokers, which has stagnated for years. Plain packaging, one of the flagship measures outlined by Health Minister Mónica García, has finally been dropped from the text. The goal was for all brands to have the same appearance and thus be less attractive to buyers, as in other countries, but the draft bill approved this Tuesday does not include this measure.

The other day, The ARA editorial spoke of a very serious problem: Catalonia leads—in other respects, no—world drug consumption. We read: "What has become of the "No to drugs" of a few decades ago? Is there a certain frivolity when talking about it? Tobacco is fortunately stigmatized, and alcohol increasingly so. Regarding the abuse of anti-anxiety drugs (here too, we are world leaders in consumption), associated with a hard and marginal drug addiction, it is on the decline. On the other hand, cocaine, linked to glamorous success (economic, artistic), far from creating social alarm, circulates with impunity."

The new anti-smoking law is taking shape. This Thursday, the Minister of Health, Mónica García, outlined some of the new restrictions that tobacco and vaping will have if the law is passed. For example, smoking will be banned on bar and restaurant terraces, on university campuses, in educational centers, in sports facilities, in work vehicles, and under bus and tram shelters. All of these spaces will become smoke-free to "protect the population and denormalize" the habit of smoking tobacco and other similar products. In fact, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco will also be legally equated with conventional cigarettes.

Last year, 21.4% of the Catalan population over the age of 15 smoked, or one in five, a figure that has remained stable since 2017. The fight against smoking, a serious public health problem, has stagnated, as policies to reduce the number of smokers have not been entirely effective for years. In fact, around 10,000 people die each year in Catalonia from diseases associated with tobacco and secondhand smoke. The Secretary of Public Health, Esteve Fernández, claimed that the figures are much better than in recent decades, but admitted that there is still room for improvement, especially in two key areas: preventing young people from starting this addictive habit and helping those already hooked quit.

The tobacco epidemic is a public health threat that claims about 10,000 lives in Catalonia every year. Different strategies are being implemented to combat it, such as the smoking cessation drugs that have been partially funded by Social Security for the past five years. These are drugs that multiply the chances of success by two or three of smokers who want to quit this addictive habit. Until now, if someone wanted to quit, they had to go to the primary care centre (CAP) and the family doctor could prescribe them a medication. As the ARA Catalunya has been able to find out, it modified its protocols at the end of 2024 and, since last December, nurses can also prescribe medications to help people quit smoking.

Barcelona City Council will make changes to the public space ordinance to ban smoking on all the city's beaches. As councillor for Climate Emergency Eloi Badia explained, there is already a political agreement for this new ban and the ordinance change may be applied in early July.

It is a draft, but it has already provoked a reaction. ARA has been able to confirm that the Ministry of Health is working on a new anti-smoking plan that aims to increase taxes on cigarettes and their derivatives and expand smoke-free spaces. Specifically, the Health Department is considering the possibility of raising taxes and banning smoking inside cars "before 2023," as advanced by Europa Press, which has had direct access to the draft.