San2
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Hi Josh, in the whole Spain, regardless of the region or autonomic community, and including Murcia the legal age for smoking and drinking is 18 years old (as it is in most EU countries.
In Spain, it used to be 16 until 2 years ago, and some years before that, there was no such thing as a drinking/smoking age. Anyone, could buy tobacco and booze, at any age, and smoking or drinking in public had no repercussions beyond your parents being told, and that rarely resulted in strict punishment only a brief reprimand followed buy a inter-parental smile of complicity and understanding.
When I was young anyone, any age could buy tobacco, packs or by the unit, even at the near munchies kiosk... which still exist and I believe still sell cigarettes by the unit. Booze could be bought everywhere. Personally my first social drinking was when I was 10 years old. I bought with some friends several bottles of rum and gin (remember then it cost around 25 pesetas per liter of Spirit alcohol or about 2 dollars at today's rates) and a bunch of tobacco packets (cost 5 pesetas per pack or about 225 cents at today's rates) at a bar and about 20 of us went to a deserted beach, which were very numerous at that time, to have a "Testing Party" were 90 % of us got sick from drinking and smoking... or the combination of both. Thanks to that party I got such replusion for the stuff that I did not start to smoke untill I was in my 20s since that is how long the disgust I felt lasted and have never drunk gain except on counted occassions when I do it for toasting to someones health or at celerations to respect someone or follow general tradition.
In any case, by 10 years of age, most of us had already tried both which should demonstarte the uselessness of any type of restrictions since when someone wants to do something with just a dash of imagination they will manage to do it. As children we used to do excursions to the neary woods where we used to roll cigarretes with dry corn cob hair and smoke it... is was sour and harsh but it smoked well specially if you had no reference. Other children just gathered long used cigarrete butts from home ashtrays, take of the filter and burnt parts and refill a new cigarrete with the clean tobacco from different butts using the longest and almost whole cigarretes butts with the best filters.
Booze was never locked or hidden at home, I was son of a Dr. and it was a spanish custom to introduce the children to mild alcohol under parental supervision, wine, champagne mostly, often cut with water, so we could toast with adults at Christmas and on special occassions. We could also try cigars also under supervision on such occasions. Such permissivity removed all the myths and taboos from either practice, smoking or drinking had not special or challenging connotations and also discouraged undercover activities which todays prohibition fosters and is the source of mistrust and concealment between youth and parents. As soon as age limits were set and age prohibition established Spanish youths developed a ritual called "el Botellon" whereby they gather outside bars or on public places (since it was forbiden to drink in bars, and in general people did not agree with such stupid policy of prohibition which has the direst consecuences clearly demonstarted during the US dry law years, and hence it was easy to have anyone go into the bar to bring out large plastic bottle/s (botellon/es), or mini/s a sarcastic denomination given to one liter beer plastic mugs. That way bars could make money and avoid sanctions. However it was the start of an unhealthy practice wich basically developed as a way to challenge authority. As usual prohibiton fomented missuse, mafias, and bad habits.
However if you want to drink in Spain here are some tips about local customs, stores and general morals that might help you:
Bars and clubs are were generally there is a stricter control of the age of who they sell/serve either booze or tobacco. Yet if you see bars were gathered outside are groups of underage looking youth drinking, it usually means that there, you can ask anyone ouside to get you drinks from inside, often they even have some camarero/a (waiter/ress), or the customers outside can inform you how to get booze or cigarrets outside from the bar. They might even provide you infor on which are other establishments that ignore the law which is also a healthy Spanish custom quite spread when people believe that it is a bad law that was introduced against general oppinion or tradtions). However as a general tip try not to give money to strangers unless it is not much money, you can test the peron asking first if they can help you get one glass of wine or a caöa (a spanish short glass of good cold draft beer) or you have agreed to share / invite them if they get you what you want. In any case have a small ammount o money ready, and if you have more money try to distribute its location around different pockets and the largest ammount hidden somewhere always that you are doing any unusual transaction.
However, as in Spain you can buy both alcohol and cigarretes at many type of stores which are not necessarily specialized alcohol or tobacco stores, unless you look like a child you can acquire booze and tobacco at many plazes much easier that at bars, pubs, or night clubs. In spain alcohol specialized stores are very rare and in many areas simply they do not exist. Stores were you can buy alcohol range from large supermarkets to small grocery stores, kiosks (for munchies and ice creams), large food markets (lonjas /mercados open only in the mroning till 3 o'clock) and many general local shop/markets/ and stores if you are at smaller villages.
Tobacco is also sold in many ways and places besides Estancos (specialized tobacco shops for all type of smoking related products hardware and parafernalia too) were people buy tobacco because it is usually cheaper So you can buy both at many places were they seldom check your age if you are buying other addtional products.
Smokes can aslo be purchased from many vending machines which are often not so supervised and if the bar or local you enter is very busy the less time they have to control who does or does not buy from the machine and in many places they do not care either since many people are against the prohibition. Also you can find such some of these stand alone machines at public spaces like at the the metro, inside malls, commercial areas markets etc....
You might not find problems either trying the tax free shps on the spanish airports and there you can uy one or two cartons specially if you ask them to wrap them explaining they are just gifts and asking them to wrap them up as such.
The places were ID is most controled are famous bars and clubs, on restaurants less, and if you are sitting with with adults probaly there is no no problem.
In Spain it is rude not to offer cigarretes to you company, friends or whoever is with you, even if you just met, and for the same reason it is not unusuall to ask any stranger if they can spare a cigarrete and many will independent of age, lest you are clearly and infant.
Other very important considerations:
Due to an ancient drinking culture in a wine and alcohol producing country it is very, and I emphasize veryimportant, to know how to drink. Being drunk is not an excuse to act inadecuatelly. It is considered unmanly or unladylike albeit unciviliced to drink yourself silly. If you drink you are expected to know how to. Hence drinking into a state were you can not control yourself, were you get sick and/ becomne rude or violent is compeletewly unacceptable and no ona had patience with that. Specially if you are in public any inpoliteness due to drukness or bothering any other people when you are drunk, by accidentally pushing, not respecting social distances when taling, shoting and bad education are generally not tolerated and will get the druk person into problems quite easily. So if you do so in public, you must drink in a civiliced manner or do it in private. If you act with respect and even if you are happily drunk and sing (unless you really sing badly, rood lyrics or extremelly loud) no one will bother you regardless of your age. This last point is extremelly important since no one will think that you are acting badly because of alcohol. If you act badly is because you are are a rude and/or bad person and not because of alcohol. This is specially so and basically means following the golden rule i.e. do onto other what you would like others do to you therefore being bothered or not respected is something no one likes even you.
Thus, while there is an age limit, if you are carefull, well educated and do not bother people you can easily do whatever you want and buy these products at many places with no problem. In Murcia specifically if depends if you are in the Capital, Cartagena or at the coast it is not an area with speciall restrictions and booze/tobacco intolerance, police persecution or heavy control. Just follow these tips and be wise and you will be OK! Murcia has great wines & delicious almond, hazelnut, peach and dates liqueurs 30-40% generally cheap and great Food: delicious fish, crabs, rice, meats like bull, cow, pork ribstakes and steaks BarBQ - a la parrilla, roasted lamb & goat and typical stews plus hams -jamon serrano & chorizos from the Murcian Sierra. Murcia is probably the most important fruit and vegetable orchard in Europe. Have a good time, be wise and enjoy it. Hope it helped!
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