The president of Asaja Extremadura, Ángel García Blanco, has described as "a full-blown attack" against the Extremaduran farmers dedicated to tobacco the bill on this product that the Council of Ministers of the Government of Spain approved this Tuesday. In his opinion, the "only intention" of this regulation is to launch "a smokescreen" to "cover up the incapacity" of the Minister of Health when it comes to reaching an agreement with the doctors to establish their framework statute.
Thus, the head of the agrarian organization has responded to Mónica García's decision to expand the areas where tobacco consumption is restricted, a measure that he interprets as a "direct attack" by the minister on Extremadura, on the regions of Campo Arañuelo and La Vera and, "above all," on the families that depend on the cultivation and transformation of tobacco.
García Blanco has also emphasized that the bill presented this Tuesday in the Council of Ministers "only aims to divert attention from the widespread corruption of the Government" and "also the lack of management by the minister regarding the problem that has been unresolved for a long time with the doctors."
In a press release, Asaja Extremadura has criticized that the new regulation equates the current smoking bans with the use of related products (vaping, using heated tobacco, etc.), leaving out only the consumption of nicotine pouches, which would have no limitations. Additionally, new spaces where smoking, vaping, or using heated tobacco will be banned are incorporated.
Thus, the proposal extends to all outdoor spaces, including the terraces of bars, restaurants, hotels, party halls, and any leisure venue; to all maritime and river beaches in the country; to national and natural parks; to public collective swimming pools and also to vehicles intended for professional use.
"Logically, we will understand that smoking will continue in places of entertainment, parties in Paradores, and all those others where the characters currently in prison or pending entry participate and who have free escape from the Government," García Blanco has ironized.
The future law also standardizes the advertising restrictions and bans on tobacco products with those of related products and devices for their consumption (electronic cigarettes, nicotine pouches, herbal products, tobacco heating devices). Likewise, it includes a "severe" restriction on the sales channels of these products, which can only be marketed in tobacconists and specialized stores.
In this regard, the agricultural organization considers that the sale will continue to be allowed in "the illegal channels that, as everyone knows, are increasing." "Likewise, and thanks to the agreement of the President of the Government, all cigarettes purchased in Gibraltar can be marketed without limits," added García Blanco.
On the other hand, for the first time in Spain, the consumption of tobacco products would be prohibited for those under 18 years old, not only the sale but also the actual use. In case of infringement, parents would assume the responsibility for the fine and sanction of their minor children. "This is the same as with alcohol; American-style Prohibition surveillance patrols will be created. They could give us the data on sanctions imposed for having consumed alcohol," criticizes the president of Asaja Extremadura.
For Ángel García Blanco, it is "a prohibitionist law, without dialogue or impact assessment for the field and that ignores the scientific evidence on the different products," which is why Asaja Extremadura expresses "its deep rejection of an initiative with a marked prohibitionist character that has been developed without listening to the sector and without a rigorous study of the economic and social impact it will have on thousands of families linked to the cultivation and transformation of tobacco."
In Extremadura, more than 20,000 families will be affected and the two main tobacco-growing regions will "disappear," according to García Blanco, who emphasizes that a reform "of this magnitude" advances without a "real" dialogue process with farmers, cooperatives, workers, and involved territories, "who will have to bear the consequences without having been heard."
Current difficulties of Extremadura tobacco
At the same time, it has been recalled that tobacco cultivation already faces "serious difficulties," among them a progressive reduction of CAP aids, "great regulatory" pressure, and "strong" competition from other countries. In this context, it argues that regulations "so disproportionate and prohibitionist" as those promoted by the Government will harm the purchasing interest in Spanish tobacco leaf and, in particular, that from Extremadura, which concentrates more than 95% of national production.
Likewise, it insists that the proposal overlooks the differences between the various products present in the market, by applying the same limitations to all categories without attending to the principle of regulatory proportionality. In this way, the law equates traditional combustion products with new alternatives that various organizations and scientific studies have identified as better options compared to conventional cigarettes.
"Public policies must be based on scientific evidence, impact assessment, and dialogue with the affected sectors," it points out, adding that "regulating cannot mean indiscriminately prohibiting or legislating outside the economic and social reality of the producing areas."
For this reason, Asaja will request the Government and parliamentary groups that, during the processing of the law, incorporate "independent" impact analyses, open an "effective" consultation process with the sector, and adopt a "balanced" regulatory approach that distinguishes between product categories and takes into account both public health objectives and the sustainability of productive activities and related employment.
The agrarian organization will also demand that no commission percentage be established "to pay any gentleman of the collars who promote this model of laws to continue enriching themselves," it concludes.