Live News From Spain As It Happens

One thing that many expats and Spanish adults have in common is their love for a cigarette with their cup of coffee or tipple of choice.
 

But all that could be changing in early 2010 Health Minister Trinidad Jiménez said in an interview with Cadena Ser as the government is “assessing the law” which is laced with loopholes and a “certain lack of definition”

Back in January 2006 Spain joined the European non-smoking community by banning smoking in public places, offices, restaurants and pubs. Possibly the pub aspect may have escaped the notice of most as each pub and restaurant smaller than 100 square metres was allowed to choose whether to allow smoking or not. Not surprisingly, very few establishments decided to change their habits of a lifetime and so continued to allow smoking as if nothing had changed in the land of law making. Latest figures suggest that over 55,000 people die from smoking-related diseases in Spain every year and that the non-smoking laws have had very little impact on reducing this number.

However, according to the Spanish Press, Spain’s Health Minister now wants to include all pubs and restaurants in a blanket ban and 70% of the Spanish population are in favour of a total ban on smoking. El Mundo say that only 40,000 of more than 350,000 establishments are presently smoke-free.

Greece and Turkey recently joined the ranks of European nations that have introduced such a ban and if implemented the effects shall be felt deeper away from the Costa Blanca, Calida, del Sol areas. For those that still smoke, our mild weather allows for terrace smoking and drinking year round, while the colder, wetter winters suffered by Madrid, Barcelona and to the north will mean that the effects of such a ban will hit smokers there more than the more popular expat areas of Spain.

Source: torrevieja.com