PUERTO VALLARTA – In a decisive victory for the hospitality industry, the National Chamber of the Restaurant and Seasoned Food Industry (Canirac) has secured a definitive suspension of the decree to reform the General Law for Tobacco Control, set to benefit 130 restaurants and bars in Puerto Vallarta.
The announcement was made by Jorge Luis Carbajal Díaz, the president of Canirac in Puerto Vallarta, who made it clear that the suspension applies only to the member establishments of the organization. This follows Canirac’s legal efforts to challenge the legislation that imposed new measures for the consumption of tobacco in public spaces since January.
The suspension, granted on July 13 by the Fourteenth Collegiate Court on Administrative Matters of the First Circuit, applies to the measures established in the decree that came into effect earlier this year. Carbajal Díaz explained that restaurants and bars, even those with outdoor spaces or designated smoking areas, must adhere to these regulations in order to benefit from the suspension. The non-smoking areas must remain 100 percent smoke-free.
“Only restaurants affiliated with Canirac can allow smoking in designated areas, as long as non-smoking areas are respected,” Carbajal Díaz clarified. He added that the protection obtained by Canirac only suspends some measures in the General Law for Tobacco Control.
He also noted that the suspension means that establishments complying with the pre-reform regulations of the General Law for Tobacco Control, demonstrating their affiliation with Canirac, and holding a current operating license would not face sanctions from the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risk (Cofepris). However, not all establishments are eligible to reinstate terraces or smoking areas; only Canirac members benefiting from the judicial resolution can do so.
It should be noted that the Anti-Smoking law that went into effect in January is not being enforced in Puerto Vallarta. The law makes it illegal to smoke in most public places, including beaches and parks, and other places where children gather.
