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Smoking ban sucks life out of cantinas 

The downturn began last month, when Mexico City became the latest capital to join the global trend of imposing smoking bans in public places. The air in the city’s traditional watering holes may be cleaner, but there is growing concern that the new rules may prove fatal for one of the city’s traditional symbols of popular culture.

“Cantinas are taking the brunt of this,” says Daniel Loeza, vice-president of Canirac, which represents almost 250,000 restaurants and bars across the country. “It is very hard to divorce cigarettes from drink and I don’t see a bright future for the city’s traditional cantinas.”

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, a lot of other food and drink outlets are also suffering from the ban. Mr Loeza says that Canirac members have reported a notable decline in sales, while plans to open new businesses have been put on ice. “Business has definitely fallen off,” he says.

Many of the more modern restaurants and bars are converting terraces, gardens and balconies into smoking areas.

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