Smoking haven Spain focuses on a more drastic ban

Three years ago Spanish lawmakers amended existing anti-smoking law, introducing a more rigorous ban, which was praised by public health organizations, who named the measure as a great victory in battle against big tobacco.

However, nowadays people can be seen in many bars, cafes, restaurants and other places, so the authorities once again are planning to review the law and toughen it even more. According to the existing legislation, smoking is banned in work places, educational facilities, and hospitals, shopping malls, eating and drinking venues.

But, venues less than 100 square meters are entitled to permit smoking, and such small cafes make up a major part of all eating and drinking establishments across the country. Larger premises had to launch specialized smoking sections in order to permit smoking there. Therefore, as a result only about 41,000 leisure venues from total of 350,000 prohibited smoking or at least launched smoking sections.

According to public health groups, in some places people even keep smoking at work, as the law is not enforced in a proper manner. The smoking ban is not implemented completely in several jurisdictions. There are no law enforcement inspections and fines for violators, reports say.

According to Health Ministry spokesperson, the current is comprehensive, but has too many loopholes, and thus, is avoided by many people. The beneficial consequences of the ban are demonstrated in the declined number of smokers across the nation, as approximately one million of adult Spaniards quit smoking since the ban was implemented. But in the past two years the decline in the smoking rates ceased, and stopped at 24 percent of adult population.

So, Public Health Minister Natividade Tevez introduced a proposal to amend the current anti-smoking legislation, in order to correspond with similar policies of European Union member-countries. The legislation would comprise regulations intended at ensuring that regional officials implement it properly, Health Ministry spokesperson declared. Members of Spanish Parliament urged the government to force more leisure venues owners to make their premises smoke-free.

Health advocates have long asked for a comprehensive smoking ban in public places, however café and hotel owners argue that it would hurt business, already weak due to economic downturn. Jorge Jimenez, patron of Valencia cafe said that he has been coming to his favorite venue to have a talk and a smoke, and regulating people’s decisions and personal freedoms would be to draconian from the government.

CEHAT, association representing Spanish Hotel owners said that the government should not amend the law, but simply enforce it properly, to protect people from secondhand smoke. According to Health Ministry survey, 70 percent of Spaniard support stricter anti-smoking policy; however, Smokers’ rights advocates doubt the reliability of that poll.