Restaurant can reopen it if enforces smoking ban

MARBELLA – THE Health Delegation in Malaga has announced that the Marbella restaurant which was closed for failing to obey the smoking ban will be allowed to open as soon as the owner bans smoking. He will still have to pay the €145,000 fine. The owner claimed online that he is the victim of a coup d’état, and that the police entered his restaurant without permission and forced customers to leave.

He says his lawyer advised him not to put up a fight, and claims he will fight to “legally destroy” the Health Councillor, Maria Jesus Montero.

Meanwhile, other hoteliers in the area believe say that “the law is the law” whether they like it or not, and in the case of the Asador Guadalmina, they weren’t going to lose custom due to the smoking ban.

According to the Malaga Hoteliers Association, sales have fallen since the smoking ban came into effect, and the number of clients has dropped by 43 per cent in cafeterias, 38 per cent in restaurants, 40 per cent in bars and 70 per cent in discos.

Meanwhile, many establishments have decided to request permits for terraces, which will allow smokers to sit outside. Many who have permits only for certain times of the year, are taking the risk of setting up tables outside to attract customers.

There are currently 70 cases open against Malaga citizens for having failed to obey the ban. In the first month, 71 reports were made, although 15 have been shelved due to lack of evidence.

 

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