Thread: Smoking laws?

Is it illegal to smoke on a restaurants patio and/or outside seating area?

Originally Posted by davidp

Is it illegal to smoke on a restaurants patio and/or outside seating area?

yes

Ahhhh. More government intervention dictating to businesses what's in everyone's best interest. When I started coming to Panama, I often stayed at the Riande Continental (before it became a dump and Riande took their name off the hotel) on Via Espania. Besides a great open-air "feel" the pool and lobby bar actually used to have a decent business, with guys like me smoking cigars around the pool, pounding down beers, mingling with all the travelers. Perhaps because occupancy fell or the smoking ban or both, but last time or two I peeked in their business at the lobby bar is non-existent now. Wonder where everyone went? The largely open sidewalk dive down the street towards the Marriott with the Balboa sign permitted smoking last time I was there.

Is it illegal to smoke on a restaurants patio and/or outside seating area?

Last time I looked the law only covered enclosed areas but the restaurant owner could always ban it outside if they wanted. For example, Manolo's in Via Veneto originally allowed smoking in the outside seating area after the law was enacted but then forbade it anyway saying that it was the law, when it wasn't. Last time I was at Pomodoros a year ago you could still smoke on the terrace. Not as though Panama has a rule of law that is enforced anyway, otherwise most of the government would be in jail for corruption.