Starting February 7, according to a decree published in the official government gazette Gazeta Oficial, alcohol on Cuba will be sold only after noon. Similar traditions existed in one form or another in other countries. The novelty is that legal sales of rum and beer can continue until 6 a.m. the next day. But during the two weekend days – Saturday and Sunday – a Cuban will have nowhere to buy alcohol.
A few days before this, the Cuban authorities also took up cigarettes. The restrictions apply to several brands of popular filterless cigarettes made from strong black tobacco. Their production is subsidized by the state, but these cigarettes are not freely sold for local pesos. Cubans who do not have access to foreign-currency stores can purchase cigarettes – and then only in limited quantities – only with ration cards, which are 'cashed in' once or twice a month. For this reason, the ban on 'selling cigarettes near schools' only drew laughter from the island's residents.
At the same time, Cubans are now forbidden to smoke in offices, as well as in buses, taxis, theaters, and sports facilities. For the first time in Cuba's history, non-smoking areas are being introduced in restaurants and bars.
According to official statistics, four out of ten people in Cuba smoke. During the revolution, thanks to Castro and Che Guevara, the country's calling card became a bearded rebel smoking a cigar. Fidel smoked cigars for many years (at one time his favorites were Cohiba cigars). However, in the fall of 1986, he announced that he was quitting smoking. This initiative was announced as part of a 'nationwide campaign against a sedentary lifestyle and obesity.'
Cigar exports remain a crucial source of state revenue – Cuba receives $240 million a year from them. The U.S. authorities, which maintain an embargo against Cuba, do not purchase cigars made on the island and do not allow their citizens to bring them in. Castro, however, would inevitably give a box of cigars to a high-ranking guest from America. 'The best thing to do with cigars is to give them to the enemy,' he once said on this matter.