My sister and I are thinking of going to Madrid and perhaps southern Spain at the end of January. We are both allergic to cigarette smoke, however, and wonder if we will be able to find non-smoking accommodations and restaurants. Any suggestions?

Are you actually allergic -- both of you? That's an odd coincidence. If you are allergic to it, my suggestion is don't go to Spain. If it just annoys you as it does many of us, then you can survive. But you clearly will not be able to avoid smoke altogether.

There are definitely non-smoking accommodations available in Spain. However, smoking is still quite prevalent there. Even in restaurants that listed themselves as non-smoking, we saw people lighting up and the wait staff bringing them ashtrays.

Ufff, as a Spaniard, I feel ashamed to say that Spain is not a good place for you ((. I don't think it is difficult to find a non-smoking accomodation in most places (perhaps not easy if you travel to a little town, but no problem at main cities)... but, non-smoking dinning is what I find would be hard. Moreover I don't think there are any tapas bar with a non-smoking policy, they tend to be absolutely full of smoke .
I hope some day the answer will be different.

IMO Filoca is correct. There were times I had to leave an establishment in Spain because I couldn't tolerate the cigarette smoke, but in all fairness, I've had the same thing happen in France (though not Italy last time as they have a non-smoking ban which actually seemed to be working.)
I thought a similar ban had just been placed in Spain, but maybe that's just wishful thinking.

I'm not allegic, but I detest the smell and if there's a lot, I have to leave. However, I have to say, that might be the only thing negative I can think of about Spain. Otherwise, it's one of my favorite places in the world.

Sorry, that should have been Filoa...I'm still drinking Spanish champagne from last night !

as of last january they actually made it "illegal" to smoke anywhere people work, its not very strictly enforced. you will definatly find accomodation in big cities that are smoke free. Smoking is extremely common through out europe, i wouldn't say there are more smokers in spain than germany or france. everyone over there smokes!

Regarding restaurants or bars, the non-smoking policy is that if the place is small, under 100 sq.meters I think, the owner is free to decide if it'll be a smoker or non-smoker place. Actually, over 95% have decided on the former.
In bigger places, they must have a space for smokers and another for non-smokers. If you are in a non-s. place and you see someone smoking, you have the right to complaint.

In November, we had a "non-smoking" room in a 4 star Madrid hotel. But by the time we left, our clothes were disgusting because of second hand smoke drifting up from below.

Change rooms? Hotel full. If you are really allergic to smoke, you can't trust Spain. If you are only annoyed by it, it may be worth it.

While we enjoyed our experience at Arzak (Michelin started restaurant in San Sebastian), we were very surprised that the restaurant allows people to smoke. People next to us literally chain smoked during their meal (took cigarette breaks between each course). Food was great but it could have been better if we did not have to smell and taste the cigarette during our meal

we just spent a couple days in madrid again and i can tell you we had a non smoking room and also many restaurants we were at did not allow smoking in our section. our friend had to go outside to the bar area.

i think the "sagardi" chain does not allow smoking at tapas area. there are more places than you can imagine that do not allow smoking and they are clearly marked.

it will not be impossible to find them.

not2old2go, I'm curious. In light of all this, are you still considering going to Spain? How serious are your allergic reactions to smoke? If they are severe, I'd sure think of NOT going.