Benidorm No Smoking Zones
Published on 11th September, 2005
Incredible though it may seem in a land where many regard smoking not so much as a right but more of an obligation that anti tobacco laws will be introduced in the New Year. From January 1st 2006 all hotels will be obliged to provide a room specifically for smokers or prohibit the consumption of tobacco throughout the entire establishment.
The special smoking rooms have to be completely separated from the rest of the hotel and have an independent method of ventilation so that smoke, both used and unused, doesn't pollute any other areas of the building.
Like many laws, there seem to be a lot of grey areas, and the hotels associations have already submitted a huge dossier to the Ministry of Health containing doubts and questions about the practicalities of complying with it.
Meanwhile, environmental volunteers distributed 3000 ashtrays to dirty smokers on the beaches of Levante and Poniente in an effort to get them to dispose of their cigarette butts in an environmentally friendly manner. Even though our beaches are cleaned daily, pesky fag ends are one of the most difficult items of rubbish to remove, and make the beach look dirtier than it should be.
Where am I? 
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