Cigar-loving Spanish parliament almost smoke-free today

MADRID, Spain – Former prime minister Felipe Gonzalez was a Marlboro man.

His successor, Jose Maria Aznar, puffed on fine Cuban cigars, and opposition leader Mariano Rajoy also relished a good, thick stogie. But the days of Spanish-style political horse trading – done in a tobacco-fuelled haze – ended yesterday at Parliament as tough new anti-smoking regulations came into force.Lawmakers are now barred from firing up in their offices or anywhere else, except in the coffee shop and one hallway earmarked as a smokers’ den.The Congress of Deputies’ 10-member standing committee, which runs the chamber’s day-to-day affairs, approved the measure in June after a lengthy spat between smokers and advocates of nicotine-free legislating.”It is a smokers’ Congress,” said Jordi Vilajoana, a Catalan member of the committee – and a smoker – who estimated that more than a third of the 350 members of the legislature like to light up.Vilajoana said that since he knew the ban was looming, he spent his summer vacation trying to kick the habit.”I’m down from 10 to 12 small cigars a day to two big ones, one after lunch and one after dinner.”He said he didn’t know of many or even any lawmakers angry over the new restrictions, and predicted that other legislators would also try to use the inconvenience to quit.”The Congress has to set an example on something that everyone agrees is a positive move,” Vilajoana said from Barcelona.Spain is generally one of Europe’s most tobacco-crazed nations – the government says 34 percent of Spaniards over 15 are smokers.That’s down four points from the late 1980s, but health officials say over that same period the average age for a Spaniard to start smoking has slipped by one year to a tender 13.Health minister Elena Salgado wants to all but ban tobacco in the workplace next year, forcing companies of all sizes and government offices to create designated smoking areas, which are now rare.The ban at Parliament is an effort to comply early.Nampa-APBut the days of Spanish-style political horse trading – done in a tobacco-fuelled haze – ended yesterday at Parliament as tough new anti-smoking regulations came into force.Lawmakers are now barred from firing up in their offices or anywhere else, except in the coffee shop and one hallway earmarked as a smokers’ den.The Congress of Deputies’ 10-member standing committee, which runs the chamber’s day-to-day affairs, approved the measure in June after a lengthy spat between smokers and advocates of nicotine-free legislating.”It is a smokers’ Congress,” said Jordi Vilajoana, a Catalan member of the committee – and a smoker – who estimated that more than a third of the 350 members of the legislature like to light up.Vilajoana said that since he knew the ban was looming, he spent his summer vacation trying to kick the habit.”I’m down from 10 to 12 small cigars a day to two big ones, one after lunch and one after dinner.”He said he didn’t know of many or even any lawmakers angry over the new restrictions, and predicted that other legislators would also try to use the inconvenience to quit.”The Congress has to set an example on something that everyone agrees is a positive move,” Vilajoana said from Barcelona.Spain is generally one of Europe’s most tobacco-crazed nations – the government says 34 percent of Spaniards over 15 are smokers.That’s down four points from the late 1980s, but health officials say over that same period the average age for a Spaniard to start smoking has slipped by one year to a tender 13.Health minister Elena Salgado wants to all but ban tobacco in the workplace next year, forcing companies of all sizes and government offices to create designated smoking areas, which are now rare.The ban at Parliament is an effort to comply early.Nampa-AP