Smoke And Mirrors: The smoking ban

Although we had thought that the smoking ban had been approved some months ago, it hadn't fully been approved. Amidst the debacle of the downloading bill, Congress finally signed off on the smoking ban on Tuesday. Just as well really, given that it is to come into effect on 2 January.

The publicity surrounding the ban has, one would think, left no one in any doubt that lighting up inside a bar, restaurant or other public place will be prohibited. Less publicity has been given to the fact that some open-air areas are also affected. There is to be no smoking outside hospital doors and in children's play areas. This aspect of the smoking ban makes the Spanish ban one of the most restrictive anywhere in Europe.

You wonder if the open-air aspect isn't the thin end of the wedge. The zeal with which the Spanish Government has pressed ahead with the ban suggests it might be inclined to go further. Where? Beaches perhaps? There would doubtless be a great deal of support were it to. How long before the ban is extended to bar and restaurant terraces? Again, many would approve of such a move.

The bars and restaurants of Mallorca had launched, somewhat belatedly, a campaign to stop the ban. There had also been talk of an amendment to the bill which would have meant that the ban's introduction would have been delayed for six months. This didn't make a lot of sense. Everyone knew the ban was on its way, and crisis or no crisis, six months make no difference.

The arguments for and against the ban are well-known. The dire predictions of lost revenue, lost employment and potential business closure in the bar-and-restaurant sector are also well-known. There is little point in going over old ground. It is now a case of seeing whether the proof of the bill's pudding will be reflected in less or more demand for a pudding and main course by those who disapprove or approve of its introduction.

Until the effects of the bill have been given time to show what sort of an impact the ban will have, it's probably right to now just to keep quiet and see what this impact is. But there's a problem with waiting for official or unofficial reports as to the impact, and it is the same problem that has dogged the propaganda of the pro- and con-lobbies throughout the time it has taken for the bill to become law.

The government's stance, in addition to the health one, is that the ban will mean more, not less business for bars and restaurants. It bases this claim on what has happened elsewhere, such as in the UK. And this is where the problem comes in. For every bit of information that might support the claim, there is other information which refutes it. As with business, so also with health. One study can point to the harm from passive smoking, another says it is unproven, another one still debunks the whole notion. And you base what you believe about the smoking ban on your own view of smoking, backed up by information which may or may not be accurate.

We can probably predict that some months into the Spanish ban, the government will report that businesses are benefiting, while the hostelry and business associations will say something different. Who would you believe? It would all be down to where you stand on the issue. As ever.

Personally, I am hugely in favour of bars being smoke-free, but I have a mistrust of "bans". It's a personal liberty issue, but even this goes round in circles. What about the liberties of those who are forced to breathe in other's smoke? (And these are pretty much the exact words that get trotted out by those who challenge the personal liberty argument.)

There is some scepticism as to whether the ban will be enforced effectively. This is scepticism largely of the "yes, but this is Spain" type. Being Spain, they do things differently, as in ignoring laws. Maybe, but don't underestimate the power of the "denuncia". If a bar is flouting the law, you can bet that someone will dob it in to plod, a rival bar perhaps, just as is the case with noise.

There is also some possibility for confusion. What exactly is the situation with a bar that temporarily encloses its terrace, as is the case during the colder months or when there is poor weather in summer? Does this then become "inside"? Will, as has been predicted, there be the emergence of the "cigarrón", i.e. smoking and also drinking in the streets outside bars, and the potential for disturbance that would accompany it?

The answer to these questions and indeed to the impact of the ban we will get some time after 2 January. Whatever the answers are, the picture is unlikely to be clear, despite what government or other sources report, just as the picture from the arguments leading up to the ban have been unclear through the smoke, mirrors and smoke-screens.


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.