Smoking at Spanish restaurants, bars banned

Smoking at Spanish restaurants, bars banned

January 01, 2011|By Al Goodman, CNN

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  Spain's infamously smoke-clogged cafes, bars and clubs will become clearer after the ban.

A law in Spain that goes into effect Sunday bans smoking in indoor bars and restaurants, and gives the nation some of the toughest smoking restrictions in western Europe.

The law will put Spain in line with Britain, France and Italy, which prohibit smoking in all enclosed public places.

Spain's hotel and restaurant federation warns of a 10 percent drop in business and tens of thousands of job losses in the midst of the nation's deep economic crisis.

But the government says similar laws elsewhere in Europe did not hurt business in the long run.