Voices en Español

As of today, Sunday, January 2, 2011, it is against the law to smoke in bars and restaurants in Spain. Yes, you read that right. It is now illegal to light up inside of Spain’s bars and restaurants.

If you’ve ever been to Spain you know that the smell of smoke inside of bars and restaurants was part of the ambiance. A night out for dinner and drinks was a guarantee that you’d return home smelling like you had smoked two packs of cigarettes. It was bad, real bad.

It wasn’t just at night or during social gatherings. Years ago, in Spain, it was the most normal thing in the world for people to smoke inside office buildings, university classrooms and even in doctors’ offices and hospitals.

In 2006 the Spanish government passed anti-smoking regulations prohibiting smoking inside office buildings but giving bars and restaurants a pass. Only large eating establishments had to provide non-smoking areas. Since the majority of bars and restaurants in Spain are small, mom-and-pop owned locations, compliance with the 2006 anti-smoking regulations was lax.

But as of today, all eateries, regardless of size, have to ban smoking.

The reactions on Twitter have ranged from serious to happy to angry and annoyed by the new law. Here are a few tweets:

@MrNynox Por mi genial la #leyantitabaco más que nada por la comodidad de cenar comida y que no venga incluido humo así gratis.

@mividalopez: El prohibicionismo siempre ha demostrado q las ‘leyes virtuosas’ solo generan corrupción, delincuencia y más Estado policial.

@elGabriel: Me voy a echar una siestecita, si los socialistas no tienen inconveniente.

@kurioso: 3 millones de personas dejarán de fumar con la nueva #leyantitabaco. No encuentro argumento capaz de rebatir que eso no merezca la pena

@muyinteresante: En vigor nueva #leyantitabaco. ¿Sabías q el humo del tabaco impregnado en paredes daña la salud? http://bit.ly/bGcFyA

@sergi_rs: Asociaciones de vecinos quejándose del jaleo que organizan los fumadores a las puertas de bares y discotecas, en 3, 2, 1,…

@nosoydolly: Las denuncias por fumar en lugares prohibidos podrian ser anonimas.” Y AHORA QUE ME DIGAN QUE ESTO NO ES LA INQUISICION. #leyantitabaco

@jgaricini: ¿Se podrá fumar dentro de las redes sociales?

Despite all the griping and grousing from smokers and business owners about the law, this is the type of law that benefits everyone in the long run. Five years from people will laugh at the memory of a time in Spain when smoking in bars, restaurants, hospitals and office buildings was acceptable and considered the most natural thing in the world.