SMOKING BAN IN SPAIN - BARS IN JAVEA
You may have thought that because you had heard nothing new about the smoking ban in Spain – that there is nothing new. However, this would be big mistake! The downfall of Mubarak may have overshadowed what is happening in Spain, as far as the anti-smoking law goes, but the fight against the smoking ban in Spain continues.
The first major casualty has been the Asador Guadalmina in Marbella, that has, after 8 weeks refusing to apply the law, finally been closed by the health authorities. The order is for a temporary closure of two months, at the end of which the Asador Guadalmina restaurant in Marbella can be reopened.
Certainly, you could not say that the owner, José Eugenio Arias, did not go down fighting!
First, they sent in the health inspectors who ordered José Eugenio Arias to remove all the tapas that were on display (this Marbella restaurant is famous for its large selection of Basque-type pintxos) as they were not in a refrigerated cabinet (are the ever?), and a few days later the police were sent in to close it down. 16 employees now have no work, although the owner has promised they will not suffer financially.
One of the reasons quoted by the authorities for closing the place rather than just waiting for the legal process to run its course (in the event that the previously-levied fine of 145,000 euros were not paid) is that the bars in the immediate neighbourhood claimed they were losing business to Asador Guadalmina – considering it to be ‘unfair competition’. So much for solidarity among the catering trade!
Perhaps José Eugenio Arias should just have let his customers smoke without provoking the authorities as is happening in other bars up and down the country. The trouble was that he placed them in a position where they had to act or appear to be powerless dolts. Certainly, the custom has quickly become established within Spain of passing on the names of bars where a blind eye is turned to smoking. There are several in Málaga and I have heard of one in Marbella.
In Madrid there is a ‘secret list’ in circulation of bars not complying with the smoking ban in Spain – with more than a hundred names on it, http://www.larazon.es/noticia/3275-la-lista-secreta) and this is probably how the matter will move on with a more low-key non-confrontational stage. In other words, rather like the pubs in England where you can drink after hours with the police knowing what goes on but not intervening unless there are complaints.
Up and down the country there are still regular demonstrations against the smoking ban in Spain and many bars have sealed their cigarette-vending machines, on the basis that if smoking is bad why is the government still collecting taxes from the sale of tobacco?
The latest figures for Malaga calculate that restaurant takings are down 38%, bars and cafes 43%, music bars 40%, and discos 70%. But in bingo halls the damage is possibly the greatest, although no figures are available. People are spending less time playing so bingos are closing much earlier. One of the alleged reasons is that customers do not like going outside to smoke on the basis that they do not want to be identified by passers-by as frequenters of gaming establishments – so they play for a short time and go home.
And, just in case you thought that nanny states only exist in northern Europe, the news that the Spanish government is considering outlawing the totally innocuous electronic cigarette – which only exhales steam – may make you change your mind…
This story is set to run and run…..
Written by Andrew Linn – Spanish wine expert. See Andrew’s excellent wine Posts and delight in Andrew’s tremendous knowledge of Spain and the Spanish wine industry, its history and products.