Last year the Balearic government imposed a ban on smoking in many public places, bars and restaurants of a certain size. In some there is absolutely no smoking at all and in others there are areas set aside for smokers.
The measure was seen as quite drastic in a country where you’d be forgiven for thinking that smoking was compulsory, and the national Government followed suit with a similar policy over all the country from this year.
Well, in the Balearic Islands the effects of the policy have been staggering. Sales of cigarettes in the area have slumped by an enormous 25%. This is an incredible drop in just one year and is understandably much more than the national average where the new policy has only been in force for a couple of months.
Any worried smokers on their way to Ibiza will be pleased to hear that there are still quite a few bars around which, because of their size, allow smoking.