No Smoking

Spain became smoke-free as of January 2, 2011. I didn't think that I would see this day after last year’s false start but it happened and now it’s the law: no smoking in any public building including cafés, bars, restaurants, and anywhere else you can think of, even outside if there are children around like parks and school yards. I think I read somewhere that this law is actually based on Seattle’s strict anti-smoking policy enacted while I lived there in 2005, if I remember the year correctly.


It’s not that I am bothered much by smoke but I hate bringing all of that soot back with me on my clothes after going out. On some nights I will strip naked and hang all of my clothes out on the line because I can’t stand the smell in my house. Those days are over now that Spain has joined the ranks of most other Western European countries that have banned public smoking. Christ, even Italy and France beat Spain to the no smoking finish line. Better late that n never and now I may even bring my laptop to my corner café in the morning; something I would never do before because of the smog.