title: The so-called "Spanish model" - tobacco industry strategies and its impact in Europe and Latin America.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To demonstrate the tobacco industry rationale behind the "Spanish model" on non-smokers' protection in hospitality venues and the impact it had on some European and Latin American countries between 2006 and 2011.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tobacco industry documents research triangulated against news and media reports.
  
  
  RESULTS
  As an alternative to the successful implementation of 100% smoke-free policies, several European and Latin American countries introduced partial smoking bans based on the so-called "Spanish model", a legal framework widely advocated by parts of the hospitality industry with striking similarities to "accommodation programmes" promoted by the tobacco industry in the late 1990s. These developments started with the implementation of the Spanish tobacco control law (Ley 28/2005) in 2006 and have increased since then.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Spanish experience demonstrates that partial smoking bans often resemble tobacco industry strategies and are used to spread a failed approach on international level. Researchers, advocates and policy makers should be aware of this ineffective policy.
authors.affiliation: German Cancer Research Center, Unit Cancer Prevention and WHO Collaborating Centre for Tobacco Control, Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Nick K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Ernesto M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Sebrié
authors.forename: Esteve
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fernández
mesh_terms: D005060:Europe; D006276:Health Facility Size; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry; D007843:Latin America; D008402:Mass Media; D017146:Models, Organizational; D016134:Organizational Policy; D011050:Policy Making; D012907:Smoking / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014481:United States; D014026:Nicotiana