Cigarettes were invented in Spain, and have remained a significant cultural touchstone over the centuries. (Seville's university, pictured on right, is housed in the former tobacco factory, made famous in Bizet's opera Carmen.) But on Sunday, a new law banning smoking in enclosed public areas went into effect, and a tradition came to an end.
According to El País, Spaniards were "reasonably" compliant with the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces, according to Dionisio Lara, of the Spanish Service Industry Federation, who reported that drinkers had shifted to outdoor tables en masse. Regulations forbidding smoking within 100 meters of health centers were less rigorously observed and smokers could be seen puffing away at the entrance to various Madrid hospitals.
Read more about the new rules and regulations here, and let us know in the comments how you feel this new law will effect your smoking clients' travels...if at all.
