The National Chamber of the Restaurant and Seasoned Food Industry (Canirac) obtained amparo to suspend indefinitely the decree to reform the General Law for Tobacco Control. The regulation entered into force on January 15 and prohibits spaces for smokers in restaurants, bars and other public places without exclusive areas for smokers.
On July 13, the Fourteenth Collegiate Court for Administrative Matters of the First Circuit granted the definitive suspension of the decree.
Why were smoking spaces removed in restaurants?
The General Law for Tobacco Control It entered into force on January 15 in Mexico, prohibiting smoking in 100% smoke-free public spaces and in other places of collective attendance, such as stadiums, plazas, parks, beaches and even hotels.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recognized this rule as one of the most advanced because it also prohibited smoking in bars, restaurants and other public places without exclusive areas for smokers.
However, Canirac – which represents 600,000 establishments nationwide – filed an amparo lawsuit. The agency asserted that the restaurant industry already complied with regulations that protect “the right to free development of the personality of smokers.”
According to the Chamber, “the new law no longer protects non-smokers, but rather generates a series of restrictions and prohibitions in the industry whose purpose is to limit the exercise of other human rights, such as being forced to discriminate and to deny service to clients”.
Which restaurants are protected by the amparo?
The suspension of the reform to the regulation applies to all those restaurants affiliated with Canirac that have a current operating license that complies with the Regulations of the General Law for Tobacco Control prior to the Reform.
According to data from the National Institute of Public Health (INSP), it is estimated that in Mexico there are about 15 million smokers.
Editorial Team The editorial team of EMPRENDEDOR.com, which for more than 27 years has worked to promote entrepreneurship.