The new legislation replaces one of Europe’s most relaxed anti-smoking laws with one of the strictest.

Aside from bars and cafes, smoking is also prohibited discos, casinos and airports.

The ban even prohibits lighting up in some open spaces such at or near access points to children’s playgrounds and outside hospital entries.

Violators face fines as high as €600,000.

Smoking at outdoor terraces is still allowed, and some bars have set up extra heaters or are providing blankets to their customers.

Under the new law hotels can set aside up to 30 percent of their rooms for smokers.

Anti-smoking restrictions introduced in 2006 allowed owners of bars and restaurants to either set aside a closed-in area of their establishment for smokers, or declare the entire business as either smoke-free or smoking allowed.

The Spanish Hotel and Catering Association (FEHR) has claimed that sales could drop by as much as 10 percent in bars already struggling with the effects of an economic crisis. However, the Spanish government says that business in other countries where smoking is prohibited in bars and restaurants has not shown a significant drop as a result of anti-smoking bans.

According to a BBC report, about 160 Spaniards a day die from smoking-related illnesses, four of them from passive smoking.

Smoking reportedly kills more than 50,000 people in Spain annually. That number includes up to 5,000 passive smokers.

The law proposal came in response to a popular initiative against bullfighting that gathered more than 180,000 signatures — more than three times the required minimum.

Last January the parliament agreed to consider outlawing the controversial practice across the region — but the proposal must still be put to a full vote.

If signed into law it is not clear how soon similar bans would follow in the rest of Spain’s seventeen autonomous communities. But aside from bullfighting strongholds such as Andalusia and Madrid support for the tradition — considered a sport by its supporters and animal torture by its detractors — has been waning throughout the country.

Earlier this year British newspaper The Independent quoted Antonio Moreno, president of Cacma, an animal rights association in the bullfighting heartland of Andalusia, as saying, “An overwhelming majority of Spaniards, 76 per cent according to Gallup surveys in 2009, are not in favor of bullfighting. However, only half that total want outright prohibition.”

The paper also said that a lack of enthusiasm for bullfighting among younger generations is most likely to deliver the estocada — the killer blow, in bullfighting terminology.

Animal abuse

While some tourists may mourn the inevitable demise of the Spanish tradition, most abhor the practice — condemning bull fighting as animal torture.

Bullfighting aficionados employ a range of arguments as to why the ritual killing of steers should not be considered animal torture, but more and more people — locals and tourists alike — have spoken out against the gruesome spectacle.

Animal rights groups and other interested parties throughout Europe are lobbying the EU to make the practice illegal throughout the European Community. Many also advocate tourist boycotts of Spain as a way to pressure the country into banning the barbarian practice.

They quickly dismiss claims that bullfighting should be tolerated as it is part of Spanish culture by saying that not all cultural practices — such as slavery or genital mutilation — should be tolerated or protected.

Fans of the activity often wax eloquently about the ‘beauty’ of seeing the toro and toreo charge and counter-charge.

But while supporters pretend that bullfighting is more or less an equal fight, websites such as Stop Bullfighting, describe that the animal’s torture starts long before it enters the ring:

The bull is not an aggressive animal, and the reason he is angry and attempts to charge at the matador whilst in the bullring is mainly because he has been horrendously abused for the previous two days.

In fact, what spectators see is not a normal, healthy bull, but a weakened, half-blinded and mentally destroyed version, whose chances of harming his tormentors is virtually nil. The bull has wet newspapers stuffed into his ears; vaseline is rubbed into his eyes to blur his vision; cotton is stuffed up his nostrils to cut off his respiration and a needle is stuck into his genitals.

Also, a strong caustic solution is rubbed onto his legs which throws him off balance. This also keeps him from lying down on the ground. In addition to this, drugs are administered to pep him up or slow him down, and strong laxatives are added to his feed to further incapacitate him.

He is kept in a dark box for a couple of days before he faces the ring: the purpose of this is to disorientate him. When he is let out of the box, he runs desperately towards the light at the end of the tunnel. He thinks that at last his suffering is over and he is being set free — instead, he runs into the bullring to face his killers and a jeering mob.
- Source: Bullfighting: The Facts

One has to wonder about the mentality of people who support that kind of treatment of an animal.

Young bull torture to death

Earlier this month a young bull was brutally tortured to death by drunken teenagers in the Andalusian town of Alhaurin el Grande.

One publication reports:

A swarm of youths surrounded the animal in the town’s bullring, engulfing it with kicks, punches and taunts on the last day of the town’s annual feria.

The police and organisers watched as the helpless bull eventually staggered to its death in the Caseta de la Juventud ring.

After the 25-minute beating, the beleaguered bull sank to its knees and was put out of its misery by Seprona officers.
- Source: Bull tortured to death in Spain, The Olive Press, June 3, 2010

In follow-up report The Olive Press writes:

A video showing dozens of drunk teenagers torturing and taunting a young bull to its death in Alhaurin el Grande caused public outcry.

Not only were animal rights activists incensed, but also aficionados of Spain’s most enduring tradition.

In the aftermath, six youths – including one aged just 14 – were arrested after the Guardia Civil referred to the video evidence.

Yet the chilling footage inevitably stoked fresh calls for the banning of bullfights, known as las Corridas, as well as growing concerns over the mentality of Spaniards towards animal wellbeing.

For, as campaigning Spanish magazine, El Observador worryingly notes: “This year, these brutal attacks have become increasingly widespread.”

And Antonio Moreno, spokesperson for Andalucian Collective Against Animal and Environmental Mistreatment (CACMA) explains: “Such acts make you worry about the mental state of those who took part.”

Indeed, the Malaga councillor for citizen’s rights Francisco Gutierrez has reportedly been inundated with complaints over the appalling scenes.
- Source: Despite torture scenes the brave are still taking the bull by the horns, The Olive Press, June 17, 2010

Such barbaric, uncivilized behavior can not be dismissed merely as the action of ‘drunken’ teenagers. Rather, it is the result of years of desensitization toward the well-being of animals.

Bulls on fire

The brave citizens of the Spanish town of Medinaceli have their own tradition of savagery. During the second weekend of November they have a feast called Toro de Jubilo, Bull of Fire.

Balls of flammable material are attached to both horns of several bulls and then set alight. The panicked, frightened animals are then released to run through the streets. The balls of pitch can burn for hours, often burning the horns, head and eyes of the bulls.

Civilized people find it hard to believe how the savages of Medinaceli can find enjoyment in this tradition.

What you can do

The websites linked to in this article include addresses you can write to in order to register your protest.

Depending on how strongly you feel about the Spanish tradition of animal abuse you may decide to vacation elsewhere. Money talks, and if the Spanish see tourists enjoy the sun elsewhere over this issue they may eventually come to their senses and outlaw these kind of practices.

That said, keep in mind that, as noted, many Spanish citizens also condemn bullfighting and other forms or animal abuse.

Sure, plenty of people venture out of the ‘tourist district’ of El Pins — which has Blanes’ highest concentration of hotels as well as a good number of camp grounds — but they seldom venture any further than the restaurants and assorted eateries along the boulevard.

And that while just one street over from the beach, some real treasures can be found. We’re talking about Passeig de Dintre, which runs parallel to Passeig de Cortils i Vieta — that’s the promenade along Platja Blanes — the beach of Blanes, situated between ‘the rock’ (Sa Palomera) and the harbor.

Next time you walk along that promenade, cross the street at Carrer Ample, about halfway the boulevard. The next street is Passeig de Dintre, to your left, and Plaza Espana, to your right.

At the corner of Passeig de Dintre you see Café Terrassans. This is Blanes’ favorite tapas bar — and once you’ve eaten there, you know why.

Guidebooks — which tend to copy each other — will tell you the tourists sit outside while the locals sit inside. To a certain extend that is true, but really… where you sit is up to you. Plenty of locals sit outside as well — and a good many tourists like the atmosphere inside. We like it either way: outside or inside, the experience is unforgettable.

Come when the place is busy (outside siesta hours) for the freshest offerings.

By the way, during the morning hours Passeig de Dintre is the scene of a fresh fruit and vegetables market.