I mentioned a while back (while I was still resident in uk) that it was the intention to take over the village bar (owned by my father in law), invest some time and money on it and bring it into the modern world. I also mentioned that we were going to make it a non smoking bar with a provision for smoking outside. Ha ha, how naive of me to suggest such a motion! You were right - you said I would have been crazy to do this and no doubt would lose a lot of custom by making it non smoking.
Well, I’m here in spain now and we are about to take over the bar in december. Having observed it for a few months it is now certain that it would be impossible to make it a non smoking bar. Even non smokers resent the changes!!! We will have to invest in some things like new kitchen units etc. But I’m hoping we can introduce non smoking at the ‘bar area’ instead. Would this work as a compromise I ask?
I guess this is my welcome to spain introduction - how to upset the locals BIG TIME!!!
Ah well, I could always entice them with some ‘Premiership’ football on the tv.
Btw, anyone know how easy it is to set up mobile phone topup services, e.g. for Movistar? We want to be able to provide this service so that clients don’t have to drive to the petrol station which is 20 miles away.
I think the bar area - where people nip in for a ca?a or a coffee so often associated with a cigarette - is the place you’re least likely to get away with a smoking ban. Spaniards are much more accepting of the idea of a smoke-free eating area, especially if it’s a separate comedor, and I think you’ll have little problem imposing that.
Haha, as a smoker I’ll tell you that I don’t bother with nonsmoking places in Spain what so ever. Not when there are so many smoking bars/restaurants around. It’s one of those European traits that we romanticise and adore (us smokers). That said, I’m trying to quit in December, so maybe my opinion will change then!
But anyway. Can you set up some sort of fan/AC set up near the bar that blows or sucks the air away from the bar? I was in Tokyo recently and they have bars where there are built in AC units in the bar so it sucks the smoke up before it goes more than a couple feet away. People end up blowing the smoke directly into the fans too - reminded me of those little flies that they put into urinals so that men focus their aim better. :D
I am an interested observer on this topic. I was once a heavy smoker (40 a day) but I kicked the coffin nails into the long grass twenty-nine years ago. Doctors now tell me that physically it’s as if I have never smoked: the body has repaired itself, thank goodness. Oh, I enjoyed a fag, obviously. But at what a price; cost and health?
The problem with smoking in bars ... and even die-hard smokers must concede this point; their health-hazard habit has an impact on non-smokers, which can hardly be fair.
The problem with non-smoking and smoking bars is it can suit only those who are on their own. I socialise with friends, some of whom do smoke. It means the two of us who don’t smoke are inhaling the smokers’ fumes. Ironically we often end up breathing more of their smoke than they do. You see, they take the occasional drag whilst in between drags their smoke is curling right up into the non-smokers faces (and lungs). I think if smokers were more considerate then these laws would not need implementing.
We may have to split the thread if we keep going about general perspectives on smoking but…
I agree. If smokers were more considerate, and they are in most countries where we’re not allowed to smoke (moving downwind, exhaling upwards, etc) we’d/they’d have fewer issues with it. If restaurants/bars were a bit more innovative in accommodating smokers (see above innovations from Japan), it would be more tolerable as well. I think I’ve also seen smoking stands at the Frankfurt airport that sucked the smoke down and out of the halls too.
Come january this will all become irrelevant and the only option will be the street or a healthier lifestyle.
yes smoking ban coming in both Italy and France are watching this . Pub bars still havent done any think about
Working in Ireland few year ago when happen and it was change but it good now and pub did take the move and do thinks for the smokers , nice smelling clean then a but off a Cigarette
Come january this will all become irrelevant and the only option will be the street or a healthier lifestyle.
yes smoking ban coming in both Italy and France are watching this . Pub bars still havent done any think about
Working in Ireland few year ago when happen and it was change but it good now and pub did take the move and do thinks for the smokers , nice smelling clean then a but off a Cigarette
Well I dont know where this information comes about a total ban on smoking in bars nationwide spain. Even if there was a total ban it wont come into effect until at least 2011 as it has to go through parliament etc. Then, the policing of this ban in rural villages will be non existent unless its near to the big cities.
We are only preventing smokers from smoking right at the bar counter and we are not providing an outdoor area just yet. They are permitted to smoke in all other areas of the bar. As its a small place we cant afford to cordon off an area for eating - it has to be in the same room.
I do hope it comes into force as soon as so that it can be a pleasant environment for employees to work as well as allowing children to be better protected.
I’ll keep you updated with reaction from the public to our planned proposals for the future.
Good response - already thought of this - the problem is that we have an open fire place and it would pull the fumes from that out into the public areas (only an issue in the cold months as we dont have any central heating). We are working on a solution for this so yes, extraction fans in the right places is what we are trying to achieve at the moment. However, this is surprisingly expensive - extraction fans of the simplest design seem to be several hundred euros and if there is a ban in future then we will have wasted our time and money making such renovations.
I was in Macro, Alicante yesterday and saw outdoor calor gas heaters which means we could provide outdoor heating quite easily if push comes to shove. We’re trying to accommodate everyone but I think here in this country the smoker wins hands down. (For now at least). Its not that I dislike smokers, but just trying to come up with a status quo.
Also looking at pellet fuel burners for heating to replace the open fire (remember, we are in ‘el campo’ where its very primitive) but its an expensive outlay. We have radiators at the moment but they are heated (wait for it…) by the open fireplace where the cinders rest on water pipes that circulate around the house. Neat idea for say…the 1960s, but for today its not adequate enough. So, we have central heating of some kind, i.e. there is a circuit, but we need more power than an open fire.
Lots of problems and ideas, but much that hangs in the balance.
Or, get electric space heaters with fans that help to circulate? Stick them at the bottom-middle of the room pointed away from the windows, then put the ventilators near the top-middle of the room pointed towards the windows. That oughtta do it.
