How can I deal with the second hand smoke on my visit to Spain?

May 10, 2009 2:59 PM

I'm really looking forward to my upcoming trip to Spain, but I'm afraid that the second-hand smoke is going to drive me crazy. Tips?

I'm a recent ex-smoker, within the past year. I'm very happy as a non-smoker, and there is absolutely 0 chance that I'm going to be tempted to light-up. I'm at the point where I find it repulsive. Repulsive to the point where I'm afraid that all of the second hand smoke in Spain is going to get in the way of me having a good time.

We're going to be in Austurias (primarily Gijón) for 4 nights, and then in Madrid for 2 nights.

I've resigned myself to telling people that I'm "allergic" to smoke. I hate how it smells, I hate how it feels in my eyes, and I hate having to breath something so toxic. I had to spend about an hour in an enclosed smoky room about 6 months ago, and I thought that my head was going to explode. I was miserable the entire time, and I could still feel it in my throat the next morning.

Here in Massachusetts, I don't have to worry about it too much because smoking is strictly banned in all bars/restaurants.

From what I understand, people will be smoking in almost all bars, restaurants and clubs. Bummer, because there are my fav places to frequent on vacation. Looking for places to hang outside will be a priority, but I'm sure that we won't be able to do that exclusively.

Also, I know that I'm going to have to visit with a friend's mother who is planning on cooking for us in her home. I can't wait to meet her and enjoy a delicious home cooked meal, but I'm afraid that her smoking indoors is going to ruin the whole experience for me. My traveling companion believes that it would be rude and hard for her to understand if we request that she doesn't smoke inside while we're there.

So, my question is two fold: A) How do I avoid smoke as much as possible? Will this even really be an option? Specific establishments or areas? B) Assuming that I'll have to deal with it, as some point, what are some techniques that I can use to make it less painful, put it out of my head, and just enjoy myself?

(I hope that it goes without saying that telling me to just take up smoking for the week that I'm there is not an option!)

posted by TurkishGolds to travel & transportation (12 comments total)

I know some people are very sensitive to smoke. The best advice I can give you is to take an over the counter allergy medicine like Zyrtec, and focus on other things. If you want to have fun, don't focus on the smoke.

oh, and I"m extremely jealous of your trip to Spain!
posted by Kraki at 3:13 PM on May 10

I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but Spain has a moderately restrictive anti-smoking law that went into effect a couple of years ago. I was there for the period right after its implementation, and while I can't say it made a profound difference, it certainly helped while indoors at public locations (note: not all bars are covered by this law, and any local's perspective should supersede mine).

See this for more details:

"From 1 January 2006, Spain prohibited smoking at the workplace. For bars and restaurants that are larger than 100 sqm, the law allows the creation of separate smoking rooms.

For bars and restaurants that are smaller than 100 smq (and this is the vast majority of cases), the legislation offers the bar owner the posibility of going smokefree. If the bar or restaurant does not go smokefree, it means that customers under 18 years old would not be allowed in that bar.

Compared to other European countries, where smoking in the workplace is banned altogether (Ireland, Sweden and Norway), the Spanish legislation is weak and confusing.

According to a study issued by the Spanish Consumers Organisation on 22 May 2007, a minimal 10 percent of small bars and 15 percent of small restaurants opted to ban smokers from their premises."

As for private spaces, I would look perhaps to this AskMe and perhaps ask for a smoke-free zone (if staying for a longer time) or that she not smoke at least while cooking (maybe? you could try).
posted by librarylis at 3:27 PM on May 10

Spend as much time as you can outdoors. Also: accept that part of traveling is dealing with things you don't like (annoying airports, expensive hotels, language struggles, second hand smoke), so that you can experience new and exciting things. Relax, try to think of the smoke as an annoyance in the name travel, and politely tell people of your 'allergy' right before you go outside or move away from the smoke, not before you ask your hosts to change their behaviour for you.
posted by Kololo at 3:29 PM on May 10 [1 favorite]

No specific information, but I'm pretty anti-smoke, and I don't remember it being an issue at all in my trip to Spain a couple years ago (NYE 2007). We spent time in trains, buses, bars, hostels and restaurants, mostly in Madrid and Barcelona.

That said, it's summer, so it should be pretty easy to find restaurants/bars with an outdoor area, or at the least a seat next to an open window. That might help if people are smoking around you.
posted by jacalata at 3:30 PM on May 10

One practical thing to make your life easier would be getting the smoke smell out of your clothes when you come back from nights out. A quick, cheap way to do this is to add a cup of white vinegar (in Spanish, vinagre blanco) to a steamy bathtub, then hang your clothes over the tub and shut the door to let the steam penetrate them. I live in Poland and we don't have Febreeze here, but this works well.
posted by mdonley at 3:49 PM on May 10 [2 favorites]

I like the information and suggestions everyone has given you so far. I just wanted to chime in that I don't think it's okay for you to ask your dinner hostess to not smoke while you're in her home.
posted by dchrssyr at 4:20 PM on May 10 [1 favorite]

Definitely beyond the pale to ask your hostess to not light up.

And don't claim you're allergic to smoke. You're not. This tactic, while it seems innocent, causes a lot of problems for people who are actually allergic to things, and disbelieved because, 'oh, you're just saying that."
posted by canine epigram at 4:46 PM on May 10 [1 favorite]

You're obsessing, and if I can be allowed some slight psychologizing, perhaps you've replaced your tobacco addiction with an anti-tobacco addiction. That is, it sounds like it's not so much the smoke itself that bothers you, but your idea of it. I don't mean to attack you, but it seems a little unrealistic to go to Europe and have a smoke-free vacation.
posted by rhizome at 5:54 PM on May 10 [2 favorites]

Some good advice here so far, thanks! Seems like I just need to suck it up and try to ignore it, which is kind of what I figured.

I should have made it clearer -- I am not considering asking her not to smoke while we are in her house, I would just like some thoughts on how to cope.
posted by TurkishGolds at 6:21 PM on May 10

When I'm away from Spain I forget how much smoking there is and am always surprised all over again after we land. Many many times I've seen people smoking in the subway right under a No Smoking sign. I've seen doctors smoke in a patient's room who had just had a heart attack. Also, there is zero education on second-hand smoke and most Spaniards flat out won't believe you if you try to bring it up.

Having said that, I love Spain and it would be a shame to miss out on all the wonderful parts of Spain because of smoke.

And remember, in the summer, every bar has an outdoor area to sit in, which will definitely help.

I grew up with a heavy smoker mother and absolutely hate smoke, but fear of smoke doesn't stop me from visiting Spain (and a good thing too as my husband is from Madrid and every other member of his family lives in Spain).
posted by daneflute at 8:14 PM on May 10

Smoking in Spain isn't all that in your face; keep in mind that smoking law linked upthread was supported by Spanish people.

I was dating a woman in Madrid for about a year, and was down there twice a month or so. I don't smoke but never felt uncomfortable or was subjected to excessive smoke. In fact, many establishments already had (pre ban) informal non smoking areas.

This was true for other parts of Spain we spent significant amounts of time in - Barcelona and La Gomera (an Island in The Canaries). La Gomera, in particular, is very remote and while there was more public smoking there than in the cities, once again it wasn't excessive. And I can't stand smoking myself either.

In fact seems to me there was far less public smoking in Spain than in many of the Eastern European countries where I've lived and worked.
posted by Mutant at 12:27 AM on May 11

To second what's already been said: stay outside as much as possible. If it's not raining, there is no reason you can't do this throughout the day all the way to the wee hours in the morning. I'm a smoker and some of the smaller places get unbearable even for me when it gets later in the night.

Also find the biggest bars/restaurants you can as if they're big enough they will have a separate smoking section due to the law. This is not that hard to do in Madrid. And a lot of restaurants, especially upscale ones, now have designated sections for non-smokers.

This is definitely not the country to quit smoking in as it's still cheap, easy and socially acceptable.
posted by slimepuppy at 4:17 AM on May 11