Smoke-free generations Bill announced at Gibraltar cardiac conference

The Gibraltar Government will shortly publish legislation aimed at creating smoke-free generations in Gibraltar, the Minister for Health, Care and Business, Gemma Arias-Vasquez, announced at the Gibraltar Cardiac Conference 2026.

The proposed Bill will prohibit the sale of tobacco products to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009.

It will also ban the sale and advertising of single-use vapes regardless of age and prohibit the sale of nicotine products to anyone under 18, with retailers required to check ages and display signage at the point of sale.

The announcement was made as Ms Arias-Vasquez opened the conference at the Sunborn, organised by the Gibraltar Cardiac Association.

The event brings together healthcare professionals, patients and families, with a programme following the cardiac patient journey from emergency care through treatment and recovery to prevention.

Ms Arias-Vasquez also outlined developments in cardiac care in Gibraltar.

The GHA carried out Gibraltar’s first coronary angiogram on December 3, 2024, followed by the inauguration of the Keith Bautista Cath Lab on December 11 that year.

The Cath Lab has operated around the clock since spring 2025 and, by summer 2026, had carried out more than 425 procedures, including more than 90 emergency coronary interventions.

Ms Arias-Vasquez also confirmed that the Cardiac Gym, temporarily relocated to the John Mackintosh Hall, is expected to return to the hospital by the end of November.

She thanked the Gibraltar Cardiac Association’s chairperson, Suyenne Catania, and its committee for organising the conference and highlighted the importance of public confidence in CPR and the use of defibrillators.

Defibrillators have been placed across Gibraltar through a partnership between the Gibraltar Government and the association, including at schools, the University and Bleak House.

The proposed smoke-free generations legislation follows a public consultation on a Command Paper published in 2025.

Ms Arias-Vasquez said: “Cardiac care in Gibraltar has changed significantly in a very short time. Behind every procedure carried out in our Cath Lab is a person who was treated here, at home, by our own GHA teams, and a family who could stay close at one of the most frightening moments of their lives.”

“Smoking remains one of the biggest avoidable causes of heart disease. The Bill we will shortly publish is one of the most forward-looking public health measures our community has ever seen, because protecting the hearts of the next generation starts long before anyone walks into A&E.”

“I want to thank the Gibraltar Cardiac Association for organising this conference and for everything it does to raise Cardiac Awareness across Gibraltar."