Sure, the cigarette packs still say stuff like "SMOKING KILLS" (in the native language of course) but that doesn't stop men, women, boys and girls, grandmas and grandpas from smoking everywhere and anywhere! It kind of reminded me of Japan in the 1980s where people smoked everywhere, in restaurants, departments stores, train stations, etc. (Now, you can hardly smoke anywhere in Japan except in little designated boxes). In the guidebook I had on Spain, it said that they had finally passed a law that made it illegal to smoke in restaurants -- but I did not see this law enforced anywhere I ate.
There is something amazing about the different mentality of how to enjoy life in Spain, though. The nation-wide (mandatory) siesta from 2pm - 5pm. Wine with lunch, party til 2am. Play is as important as work -- whereas in NY it feels as though play IS work. I feel like the smoking thing is part of it. Smoking in NY, it's like you are an evil anti-social person who is going to die imminently of horrible cancer, versus smoking in Spain, you are a lover of life and enjoy yourself like anybody else. Irwin thinks it's the difference between the guilt-ridden puritanical thinking of Protestants and the Catholics (whose guilt is absolved on a regular basis?).
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