Spain warns citizens not to smoke or vape in public due to coronavirus threat

Spain has warned its citizens not to smoke or to vape in public places given the amount of hand to mouth contact that the habit involves which could pose a risk as the nation battles to contain coronavirus.

The Spanish health ministry banned the use of water pipes even as the country eased out of a three-month lockdown which ended on 21st June.

However the use of these pipes is still not recommended because these 'shisha' pipes are often shared between people.

Smoking and vaping “should be avoided in social and communal settings” as a means of preventing new COVID-19 infections, according to a document from Spain's public health commission.

“In situations where it is carried out, it should be in open spaces, and with personal hygiene by the consumer such as handwashing before and after and cleaning the devices used.”

The advice was aimed at curbing the risk of smokers and vapers touching potentially contaminated surfaces in terraces and other public places, and then putting their hands in their mouths.

One of the hardest-hit nations by the coronavirus epidemic, Spain's death toll has exceeded 28,000. Six in every 10,000 people have come down with the virus, one of the highest rates in the world.

The World Health Organisation has repeatedly warned that smoking was linked to a higher risk of severe illness for those infected with Covid-19.

Several studies by French and Spanish scientists suggested that nicotine therapy could actually help combat coronavirus – though this has been challenged by the Spanish health ministry which said these studies had no scientific basis.

Spain is currently planning to reform its 2005 Law Against Tobacco, which ended smoking in all public places, including bars or nightclubs.

The left-wing coalition government wants to introduce higher taxes on cigarettes and bring in more restrictions on smoking in public.