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England may have joined the list of countries where a small, politically influential group of fanatic wants to control how the rest of us live, but luckily I live in Mexico where even the dogs smoke...

The basic rule here is relax - you can pretty much smoke wherever you want. Until a very short while ago, cigarettes were advertised on television and sold in chemists' shops. That right, you could buy your medicine and a packet of 20 Marlboro, in the same place. That changed, and now there are some restrictions on cigarettes, but nothing compared to what you face in the United Kingdom these days.

You cannot smoke in the public areas at the airport, but you can in all the bars and coffee shops that are dotted around the building. Cinemas for some reason are also no-smoking zones, as are all forms of public transport. Most government offices are also no-smoking and have a large sign telling you that smoking is not allowed. You can't miss it: just look for the people congregating underneath it to enjoy a nice cigarette break. This is Mexico, people, and rules are made to be ignored so long as no one has the authority to order their enforcement.

By law restaurants have to have a no-smoking section. When this was first introduced the owners tried to circumvent it by declaring the two or three tables closest to the toilets as the no-smoking area. The government in its wisdom changed the rules to force them to have at least half the tables for those strange people who don't smoke. This is a bit of a pain because if the place is busy you will usually have to wait for a table in the smoking section, but can walk right through to one in the no-smoking area.

Bars, cantinas and other places where alcohol is served tend to allow smoking throughout. Given that cantinas also double as restaurants and are famous for their cooking, it is highly likely that the inspectors are either under instructions to ignore the law, or are entering the establishments empty handed and leaving with a nice bottle or two. Either way this is not your problem, so take it as read that anywhere booze is served, an ash tray will be conveniently to hand as well.

Mexico produces both cigarettes and cigars from her own home grown tobacco fields. All the international cigarette brands are on sale, and all are produced under license in the country. The most expensive brand is Marlboro which cost about 1.00 a pack. The cheapest are Delicados, which taste a bit like Woodbine and cost roughly 20p for a pack of 15. All other brands fall between those prices, unless you buy cigarettes in a bar. There the price tends to go up quite a bit, so make sure you stock up in a regular shop before you hit the town.

Thinking about this, and viewed from my perspective, the question really is a bit silly. There is not demand in Mexico for smoking to be banned, and many of the laws that restrict it are routinely flouted.

Excuse me while I light a cigarette...

Learn more about this author, Kenneth Bell.
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