Starting December 1st, the seaside city of Mar del Plata will begin to fine those who smoke cigarettes on the beach, outside of authorized areas.
Thus, the seaside city will end three years of voluntary implementation of the “smoke-free” policy and will tighten its rules.
Facing the summer season, it will begin to apply fines that can reach up to $508,992 for smokers.
The measure seeks to reduce cigarette butt pollution and promote healthy habits during the 2025/2026 season.
Fines of up to half a million pesos for smoking in Mar del Plata
The economic sanctions range between 0.15% and 1.5% of the value corresponding to 100 municipal minimum wages.
This equates to amounts between $50,899 and $508,992 (US$35.73 and US$357.31).
The ban extends to private and concessioned resorts, municipal Fiscal Tourist Units, the Punta Mogotes Complex, and provincial concessions.
Thus, starting next week, smokers must put out their cigarettes before stepping on the sand.
Although the local Executive may extend the restriction to public beaches, that expansion has not yet been formalized.
The authorities have not yet specified how the controls will be implemented or how fines for non-resident tourists will be applied.
The measure expands and modifies a 2010 ordinance that already prohibited smoking in commercial environments, public services, squares, and parks in Mar del Plata.
Cigarettes: the main plastic pollutant on the beaches of Mar del Plata
The regulation responds to a serious environmental problem.
Studies by the Conicet detected thousands of cigarette butts in Mar del Plata and Villa Gesell during surveys on Buenos Aires beaches.
The latest Provincial Coastal Marine Waste Census of 2021 confirmed that cigarette butts represent 19.6% of the plastic pollutants found on beaches in the province of Buenos Aires, being the most abundant waste.
A 2015 report counted 4,322 cigarette butts in just five days on Mar del Plata beaches and another 800 in Villa Gesell.
Each filter contains more than 90 contaminants that affect human health.
Thus, a single cigarette butt can contaminate up to 1000 liters of water and takes approximately 18 months to degrade in the sand.
The filters are composed of cellulose acetate and, when decomposing, release volatile substances such as nicotine, pyridine, and benzene into the air.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 18 billion cigarette butts are discarded worldwide every day.
Banning cigarettes on beaches, an international trend
The decision of Mar del Plata aligns with a global trend of anti-cigarette policies in open public spaces.
Since July 2025, France prohibits smoking in all public spaces, including parks, beaches, forests, and areas near schools.
Chile, on the other hand, explicitly penalizes smoking on all its beaches, rivers, and lakes to protect natural recreational areas. The restriction is also gaining momentum in Spain and Italy.
Singapore and the United Kingdom, among other examples, are recognized for their strict anti-tobacco policies in public spaces.
Other Argentine coastal towns, like Villa Gesell, are currently conducting community pilot programs to combat cigarette butt pollution.
