MADRID LETTER:While smoking has been illegal in places of work and leisure for several years, the law is so woolly it has little effect, writes JANE WALKER
SPANIARDS ARE born anarchists who seem to believe that rules and regulations, be they double parking, speeding or smoking, are made to be ignored.
A law banning smoking in places of work or leisure was introduced three years ago but it has had little effect.
The sales of cigarettes fell slightly during the first few months, but they are now back to 2006 levels and the numbers of smokers remain the same.
Someone described the 2006 law as having as many holes “as a leaking bucket”.
The law banning smoking in the workplace seems to be respected and it is a common sight to see groups of people puffing away in the streets outside their offices.
But when the draft Bill was first presented in parliament, the catering trade – who feared they would lose business – were up in arms.
Using their powerful clout, they succeeded in diluting the Bill to allow smoking in the majority of establishments.
In theory, if the premises is less than 100sq m, the owner can choose whether to allow smoking.
But 100sq m in Madrid seems to be pretty elastic, and it is up to the bosses to measure their own premises – which allows them to ignore the space behind the bar – or between the tables and so on.
In larger establishments, smoking is officially permitted only if the premises is physically divided into two areas – and not by merely putting up a removable screen – with separate extractor fans installed for each zone.
But it is estimated that less than 1 per cent of Madrid’s bars and restaurants have invested in new air conditioners or partition walls.
Many simply have some tables for smokers and others for non-smokers.
Another loophole is at private functions. Handing round a box of cigars is a tradition at Spanish weddings, baptisms and family events.
Owners of restaurants and other function-hosting establishments fought to open another hole in the law: the father of the bride can still offer his Havana cigars to his guests.
A report issued last week by the ministry of health showed the frightening statistics of the results of smoking. It is estimated that 50,000 deaths from cancer of the lungs, throat and oesophagus, among others, are caused by tobacco; and 1,400 of these deaths are of passive smokers who have been exposed to tobacco smoke.
It is the non-smoker who has trouble finding a smoke-free bar or cafe in Madrid. Pop into virtually any one, and you are forced to view the scene through a haze of tobacco smoke.
Not surprisingly the passive smoking staff are feeling the consequences.
Dublin-born Morys, who has been in the bar and restaurant trade for more than 30 years, is one of the sufferers.
He is now in remission after treatment for throat cancer at the end of last year and is back at work as manager of an Irish pub in Madrid.
He hates the smoky atmosphere and complains that his throat and eyes trouble him every day when he ends his shift.
But he admits that the customers appreciate their freedom to light up.
“One of the first things visiting Irish and British clients welcome is that they can enjoy a cigarette at the bar and don’t have to go outside into the cold as they would do at home,” he says.
The unions say they receive many complaints from their members. “Waiters and barmen complain to us, but there is little we can do because the law is so permissive,” said a spokesman for the UGT (the general workers’ union).
Other union officials worry that many of their members could lose their jobs if employers took advantage of a stricter law to cut down on staff.
One sector you would expect to support the smoking ban is the health authorities in Madrid where the conservative Popular Party (PP) governs the autonomous government.
But they refuse to enforce the law and support the catering trade.
The PP councillor for health, Juan José Guemes, an ex-smoker, says a ban on smoking in public places would be going against the rights of the individual.
“However dangerous it might be, we are not here to impose rules and restrictions on anyone. We have to educate the people on the dangers of tobacco.
“Of course we respect the rights of non-smokers, but if they don’t want to breathe in smoke, they should find a non-smoking bar,” he told The Irish Times, although the only option he gave this non-smoking writer was a singularly unattractive establishment.