Road rules1 min ago
Smoking In Spain
I'm currently in the Canaries and in the majority of bars and restaurant I've been in I've been surrounded by smokers and vapers mostly Brits but locals as well. It seems their regs which are similar to ours are widely ignored. Just out of interest has anyone else experienced this in other areas of Spain ?
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.I haven't been for a few years but the last time I was there the no smoking was enforced in bars and restaurants where the law applied at the time - it didn't apply to smaller establishments that opted to go 'smoking'. I don't know what the current laws are.
Where in Tenerife are you and what's the weather like?
Yes. Only the docile,compliant, Brits obeyed the original EU dictats.I was in a Greek departure lounge at an airport with new signs all over the walls regarding the new No smoking Regs and the Fines for infringements. They even supplied a pen nearby for smokers which was thick with fug for those timerous beasts who needed a nicotine boost before take off.The Zorbas in the bar were lighting up with gay abandon as do all the other European serf country's citizens and completely ignoring said dictats.
In some European countries it's only people who're smoking in bars, etc who can be fined for doing so. (i.e. there are no penalties faced by the bar owners). So bar owners tend to leave it up to their customers to decide as to whether to follow the rules or not.
Here in the UK though any publican who allows smoking in is bar risks being fined for doing so. Such a criminal conviction could potentially then lead to the loss of his/her licence. So if you light up in a British pub, you can expect the publican to swiftly make it extremely clear that smoking on the premises won't be tolerated.
In 2008 I went to Paris to watch France v England in the 6 nations. Less than a year after the smoking ban. I thought there's no way the French will take any notice. I was wrong they were incredibly strict. I got talking to a guy who ran a Canadian themed bar and he said the fines for the owners were draconian so they made damn sure no one was smoking on the premises.