SPAIN: The typical Spanish bar viewed through a haze of tobacco smoke will soon become a part of history when the country will join Ireland and Norway in introducing a smoking ban.
A bill banning smoking in public passed unanimously through the lower house of parliament yesterday, and the Senate is expected to give it a similarly smooth passage within weeks.
The ban, which will become law on January 1st, will prohibit smoking in bars, offices and the workplace even if they have specially designated areas. The only exceptions will be for bars and restaurants of more than 100 square metres with a separate smoking section with independent ventilation, or when the owner chooses to declare it a "smoking bar", in which case children under 18 will be banned.
As might be expected in a country that has the highest number of smokers in Europe and where an estimated 31 per cent of the adult population smoke, the news is raising storm clouds of protest along with the clouds of tobacco smoke.
The fact that the price of cigarettes is still comparatively low compared with other European countries - a packet of Marlboro, for example, costs only €2.75 - means most people can still afford to smoke.
Doctors say smoking amongst the younger generation, particularly women, is on the increase, and an estimated 40 per cent of women aged between 16 and 24 are smokers.
The new law is the next step in the growing trend to curb smoking - even if there is still a long way to go.
For more than two years it has been forbidden on aircraft, buses and trains.
In theory, at least, most restaurants and hotels are supposed to offer smoking or non-smoking tables and rooms.
