Surprising
though it may seem, approximately 70% of the Spanish population are said to be
non-smokers. The Spanish Government recognises this, and on January 1st
2006, a new law was implemented (Ley 28/2005) covering a range of public
health measures against smoking in Spain, along with tighter regulations on the
sale, supply and advertising of tobacco products. The
primary objectives of the new law were to protect non-smokers, particularly
those in the workplace, from passive smoking, to encourage people to cease
smoking and to discourage the younger generation from starting. Where is smoking banned?
From
January 1st 2006, all enclosed public and private
workplaces became smoke free environments. This is in addition to a complete
ban on smoking in all indoor public places for example,
Hospitals
Schools
and Universities
Sports
Centres and Indoor Stadiums
Shopping
Centres and Retail Outlets
Cultural
Centres, Libraries, Conference Halls and Museums
Cinemas
and Theatres
Public
Transport, including taxis and cable cars
Lifts,
Telephone Booths and enclosed ATM cash dispensers
Where is smoking permitted? Exemptions
to the rule exist, in particular relating to bars and restaurants, where the
law is considered to be somewhat ambiguous and open to interpretation.
In
bars and restaurants in Spain, who have what is defined as ‘useful surface’,
i.e. public areas larger than 100 square metres, smoking is banned, however the
law allows that completely isolated smoking areas can be created, providing
they have good ventilation systems, which can occupy as much as 30%
of the public area.
The
majority of bars in Spain have a ‘useful surface’ of less than 100 square
metres which allows the owner to decide whether they wish to implement a smoke
free policy or not. They also have the option to impose a partial ban by either
making isolated smoking areas, according to the regulations for larger premises,
or by merely putting up signs informing their customers which area is
designated for smokers. Initial estimations suggest that less than 10% of
smaller premises have gone smoke free and some that did have already reverted
back, citing loss of business as the reason.
Smoking
areas, again complying with the ventilation requirements, may also be created
in hotels, open air theatres, bus stations and airports.
The sale of tobacco products. With
regard to the sale of tobacco products, the law now states that they may only
be sold from tobacconists (estancos) and bars and restaurants where smoking is
permitted; for this reason vending machines are now prohibited in any other
place. With the legal age for buying cigarettes, etc having been raised to 18,
most vending machines now have control mechanisms, operated remotely by the
owner of the establishment, to restrict their use to adults.
Tobacco advertising and sponsorship. Promotion
and advertisement of tobacco products in all forms of public and private media
has been completely outlawed under the new regulations. This includes
sponsorship, however there is one exemption to this; participants and teams in
motorcycle and Formula One International races have been granted a three year
extension for their sponsorship deals.
Who doesn’t the law
protect? Whilst
the law has gone a long way to protect the rights of non smokers, unfortunately
there is one sector of the population which has been overlooked, namely those people
who are employed in what is known as the ‘hospitality industry’, i.e. waiters,
barstaff etc.
These
workers do not enjoy the same rights to work in a smoke free zone as those of
their office worker contempories. This is because the law considers workplaces
in general and the hospitality industry as completely different entities.
Whereas the law has been designed to protect the workers in the first group, it
protects the customers in the second.
Senior
health officials argue that whilst the customer has the right to choose a smoke
free area within an establishment, the workers are not free to choose where to
work within that same establishment. It is hoped that the Spanish government
recognises this inconsistency and amends the regulations accordingly, thus
bringing to all its citizens, equal rights to enjoy a smoke free zone.
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