Laws

Law 14/1986 of April 25 on General Health (as amended)

25 Apr, 1987

COMMENTS: Law 14/1986 on General Health contains penalty provisions, which are referred to by Decree 1079/2002 and Decree 639/2002.

Law 13/1998 of May 4 on the Organization of Tobacco Market and Tax Regulations (as amended)

25 May, 1998

COMMENTS: Law 13/1998 establishes the process by which retailers can obtain authorization to sell tobacco products. The law also includes provisions relevant to manufacturers, importers, and wholesalers.

Royal Decree 1199/1999 of July 9 which develops Law 13/1998 (as amended)

14 Jul, 1999

COMMENTS: Royal Decree 1199/1999 provides implementing measures under Law 13/1998, including those related to the authorization of tobacco retailers. 

Resolution of November 19, 2001, converting into euros the amounts needed for certain sanctions

19 Nov, 2001

COMMENTS: Resolution of November 19, 2001 updates the penalties contained in the General Health Law by converting the amounts into euros.

Royal Decree 1079/2002 of October 18, regulating maximum nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide content of cigarettes, labeling of tobacco products, and measures relating to ingredients and denominations of tobacco products

18 Oct, 2002

COMMENTS: Royal Decree 1079/2002 previously regulated the packaging and labeling of tobacco products. Decree 1079/2002 was amended by Royal Decree 639/2010 and Law 14/2011, and later repealed by Royal Decree 579/2017.

Law 28/2005 of December 26 on health measures regarding smoking and its sales regulation, supply, use and advertising of tobacco products (as amended)

COMMENTS: Law 28/2005 on health measures regarding smoking and its sales regulation, supply, use, and advertising of tobacco products regulates smoking in public places; tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; and tobacco packaging and labeling. Law 28/2005 has been amended several times, including substantial amendments by Law 42/2010, which amended provisions that had previously allowed for designated smoking areas and instituted a ban on smoking in all indoor public places and workplaces.

Note: The English translation available here includes amendments through December 30, 2010 (Law 42/2010). The original language includes amendments through November 17, 2017.

Law 7/2010 of March 31 on General Audiovisual Communication

01 May, 2010

COMMENTS: Law 7/2010 on General Audiovisual Communication regulates audiovisual communications in general. Specific to tobacco control, the law prohibits any commercial communications regarding cigarettes and oral tobacco.

Correction of errors in Royal Decree 639/2010

27 May, 2010

COMMENTS: This notice corrects an error in Royal Decree 639/2010.

Royal Decree 639/2010

27 May, 2010

COMMENTS: Royal Decree 639/2010 amended Royal Decree 1079/2002 and mandated pictorial health warnings. Decree 1079/2002 has since been repealed by Royal Decree 579/2017.

Law 14/2011 of September 16

21 Sep, 2011

COMMENTS: Relevant to tobacco control, Law 14/2011 amends the provision in Law 28/2005 governing tobacco product vending machines.

Royal Decree 579/2017 of June 9 on the regulation of certain aspects related to the manufacture, presentation and marketing of tobacco products and related products

11 Jun, 2017

COMMENTS: Royal Decree 579/2017 regulates certain aspects of tobacco manufacturing, presentation (packaging), and sale. This decree transposes many of the provisions of Directive 2014/40/EU (Tobacco Products Directive), including the requirements of health warnings to be placed on tobacco product packaging. Manufacturers and distributors had until September 11, 2017, three months from the date of entry into force, to comply with the new health warning requirements. Products meeting the prior health warning requirements were permitted to be sold until April 11, 2018, ten months from the date of entry into force.

Law 17/2017 of November 17, amending Law 28/2005

19 Nov, 2017

Note: This law has not been reviewed by our legal staff and was not relied upon for purposes of our analysis. We are providing it here for informational purposes only.

Royal Decree 47/2024 of January 16 Amending Royal Decree 579/2017

17 Apr, 2024

Note: This law has not been reviewed by our legal staff and was not relied upon for purposes of our analysis. We are providing it here for informational purposes only.

To the best of our knowledge, all laws provided here are in effect as of December 3, 2021 unless otherwise noted.