Marbella restaurant warned that it must comply with anti-smoking law

The owner is allowing smoking on the premises and plans to report the police officers who took down the names of customers they saw smoking.

The Marbella restaurant, the Asador Guadalmina in San Pedro de Alcántara, which has flouted the new anti-smoking legislation and is allowing smoking on the premises, has been warned by the regional government that it must comply with the law.

The restaurant has a sign posted at the entrance informing customers that it is taking up its rights as a private business and will not be applying the law. The restaurant was reported by the local police on Monday.

The Junta de Andalucía’s health representative for Málaga province, María Antigua Escalera, has informed Europa Press that a health inspector would be visiting the premises on Tuesday to determine if the law was being met on the premises.

The owner, José Eugenio Arias, has said that he will try any legal means he can find to allow his clients to continue smoking on the premises. One possibility he said he may consider is to create a gastronomic club, where only members would be allowed entry.

He also announced that he would be reporting the two local police officers who visited the restaurant on Monday and took down the names of the customers they saw smoking.

Meanwhile the Partido Popular Mayor of Valladolid, Javier León de la Riva, has repeated his earlier criticism of the Minister for Health, Leire Pajín. He made the headlines some months ago for comments about the Minister’s physical appearance, and this time he has criticised her invitation to the public to denounce those they see breaking the anti-smoking legislation.

He compared the declarations of the Minister to those of the Nazis, and said ‘this is how the terrible things in humanity start, with denuncias of some against others’. He went on to say ‘Here we’ve started by denouncing smokers’.

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