Spain introduces some of the toughest anti-smoking laws in Europe, prohibiting lighting up in enclosed public places and even some outdoor spaces, bringing an end to the country's traditionally smoky bars and restaurants. It was a shock for many Spaniards for whom the cafe culture has been an essential part of daily life
 A woman smoking a cigarette and drinking a coffee as she ponders the new anti-smoking legislation at a cafe in Aranjuez. AFP photo. |
The tapas bar - that smoky, noisy and bustling Spanish success story that combined delicious morsels with good wine within a welcoming atmosphere and spawned imitators across the world - is now smoke-free. So are restaurants, discotheques, casinos, airports and even some outdoor spaces.
Spain on Sunday introduced an anti-smoking law that is likely to turn the country - the EU's fourth largest tobacco producer - from a cigarette-friendly land abounding with smoky bars and restaurants, into one of Europe's most stringently smokeless.
After a one-day amnesty granted for New Year's Day, the new law banning smoking in all bars, restaurants and public places - including even some outdoor areas - took effect at the stroke of midnight Saturday.
It was a shock for many Spaniards for whom the cafe culture - lighting up with a few friends while enjoying a drink and tapas - has been an essential part of daily life.
"It is over already. We have taken away all the ashtrays. When you look at the health question I agree but I also think there should be a minimum zone where you are allowed to smoke," said Elena de Lucia, a 22-year-old waitress, and smoker, at the Variety Tavern, a pub in central Madrid.
The law prohibits lighting up in enclosed public places, although hotels are allowed to reserve 30 percent of their rooms for smokers. Outside, smoking it banned in open-air children's playgrounds and at access points to schools and hospitals. "It's a step that should have been taken four years ago, but I think the government got cold feet," said bakery worker Inma Amantes Ramos, 29.
Parliament approved an anti-smoking law in 2006 that prohibited smoking in the workplace but allowed bar and restaurant owners with premises under 100 square meters to decide whether to allow smoking or not, and almost all permitted it.
Larger restaurants were allowed to build hermetically sealed smoking sections, but now those spaces can no longer be used for smoking after a parliamentary commission voted down such an option. Most critics said the 2006 law had been a failure. Health Minister Leire Pajin said around 50,000 people died each year in Spain as a result of smoking-related illnesses, with around 1,200 of those being nonsmokers who inhaled secondhand smoke. By 2012 all of the EU's 27 member states should have banned smoking in enclosed zones.
Jose Luis Guerra, vice president of the Spanish Hotel and Catering Association, said bars and restaurants had taken a beating for the past 31 months because of the economic crisis.
He estimated the ban could lead to a further 5.0-percent drop in sales in restaurants, about 10 percent in bars and 15 percent in night clubs.
Working at the door of central Madrid's Capucho cocktail bar, 60-year-old Juan Manuel Casado, a former smoker, predicted a slight drop in business at the start of the ban.
"But then people will get used to it as they have done in Italy, Greece, Ireland, every country. When you want to go out with friends to have a few drinks you will have to go to a bar, and when you want to smoke you will have to go out to the street."
Compiled from AFP and AP reports by the Daily News staff.
Spain on Sunday introduced an anti-smoking law that is likely to turn the country - the EU's fourth largest tobacco producer - from a cigarette-friendly land abounding with smoky bars and restaurants, into one of Europe's most stringently smokeless.
After a one-day amnesty granted for New Year's Day, the new law banning smoking in all bars, restaurants and public places - including even some outdoor areas - took effect at the stroke of midnight Saturday.
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| Stubbing out cigarettes in Europe | |
| Here is a look at smoking bans elsewhere in Europe. - Ireland: By banning tobacco from March 2004 in one of its most venerable institutions, the pub, Ireland is credited with having unleashed a domino effect across Europe in favour of smoke-free bars and cafes. - Britain: Smoking was banned in public places, including bars and restaurants, along with workplaces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2007, while Scotland extinguished smoking in 2006. - Turkey: Went smoke-free in July 2009 as the government introduced a ban in bars, cafes and restaurants. - Belgium: Anti-smoking measures for hotels and restaurants are expected to be extended to cafes from 2012 to 2014. - Croatia: After a six-month grace period for small cafes and restaurants Croatia in April introduced what are among the most strict anti-smoking measures in the Balkans. - Denmark: In Aug. 2007 outlawed tobacco in bars, cafes and restaurants bigger than 100 square meters. - Finland: With a series of laws designed to completely eradicate smoking and tobacco on Oct. 1, Finland is the first country in the world to write into its legislation that it intends to end all tobacco use through law. - France: The country started 2008 under a new smoking ban in cafes, restaurants and bars. Smokers have moved to sitting at tables outside the cafes. - Germany: Smoking has been banned in bars and restaurants since July 2008, but there are widespread exceptions allowing people to puff away in separate rooms and in pubs under a certain size. - Greece: Has Europe's highest rate of smokers and successive bans this decade have been ignored. - Italy: Since Jan. 2005, Italians have been enjoying their espresso without lighting up in cafes, restaurants and other public places. MADRID – Agence France-Presse | |
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"It is over already. We have taken away all the ashtrays. When you look at the health question I agree but I also think there should be a minimum zone where you are allowed to smoke," said Elena de Lucia, a 22-year-old waitress, and smoker, at the Variety Tavern, a pub in central Madrid.
The law prohibits lighting up in enclosed public places, although hotels are allowed to reserve 30 percent of their rooms for smokers. Outside, smoking it banned in open-air children's playgrounds and at access points to schools and hospitals. "It's a step that should have been taken four years ago, but I think the government got cold feet," said bakery worker Inma Amantes Ramos, 29.
Parliament approved an anti-smoking law in 2006 that prohibited smoking in the workplace but allowed bar and restaurant owners with premises under 100 square meters to decide whether to allow smoking or not, and almost all permitted it.
Larger restaurants were allowed to build hermetically sealed smoking sections, but now those spaces can no longer be used for smoking after a parliamentary commission voted down such an option. Most critics said the 2006 law had been a failure. Health Minister Leire Pajin said around 50,000 people died each year in Spain as a result of smoking-related illnesses, with around 1,200 of those being nonsmokers who inhaled secondhand smoke. By 2012 all of the EU's 27 member states should have banned smoking in enclosed zones.
Jose Luis Guerra, vice president of the Spanish Hotel and Catering Association, said bars and restaurants had taken a beating for the past 31 months because of the economic crisis.
He estimated the ban could lead to a further 5.0-percent drop in sales in restaurants, about 10 percent in bars and 15 percent in night clubs.
Working at the door of central Madrid's Capucho cocktail bar, 60-year-old Juan Manuel Casado, a former smoker, predicted a slight drop in business at the start of the ban.
"But then people will get used to it as they have done in Italy, Greece, Ireland, every country. When you want to go out with friends to have a few drinks you will have to go to a bar, and when you want to smoke you will have to go out to the street."
Compiled from AFP and AP reports by the Daily News staff.
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