Around 300 restaurants in Jalisco have reopened their designated smoking areas thanks to legal action taken by the National Restaurant Chamber (Canirac), Mario Ávalos, president of the chamber’s Jalisco branch, said this week.
Strict anti-tobacco legislation approved by federal lawmakers in December 2022 effectively banned smoking in all restaurants throughout the country. Smoking was no longer permitted on restaurant premises, even in designated outdoor areas.
Ávalos told media outlets this week that a federal judge has upheld an injunction (amparo) filed by Canirac challenging the laws outlawing smoking in restaurants.
Ávalos said the restaurants that have decided to reinstate their smoking areas are mostly ones that saw their income fall significantly due to the ban.
Ávalos added that restaurant owners who have not been affected unduly by last year’s legislation may prefer not to reopen their designated outdoor smoking areas because that would imply yet another expenditure outlay. He also noted that the favorable outcome of the injunction only applies to restaurants affiliated with Canirac.