Barcelona has banned smoking on all its beaches in a bid to wipe out fumes and discarded cigarette stubs from its coast.

City officials approved the ban last week, which came into force on Monday, 25th July.

Smoking is still allowed in spaces where there are licensed beach bars or restaurants, but not on the sand or in the sea.

Anyone found flouting the ban can be fined EUR 30 (GBP 25).

The measure comes after a pilot scheme on some city beaches that reportedly reduced tobacco consumption among beach goers by more than 10 per cent.

Barcelona’s councillor for climate emergency Eloi Badia reported that currently just one per cent of people smoke on the Catalan capital’s beaches.

The measure was proposed by the left-wing mayor of Barcelona – Ada Colau – and backed by the centre-left Republican Left of Catalonia, the centre-right Together for Catalonia and the centre-right Citizens parties.

The remaining parliamentary groups abstained, including the centre-right to right wing People’s Party, which cited individual freedoms.

Cigarette butts account for more than 25 per cent of marine debris.

And according to the World Health Organisation, smoking is the main cause of preventable death.