Mexico bans sale of e-cigarettes

On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, held on May 31, the President of the Republic of Mexico signed a decree banning the marketing and circulation of electronic cigarettes, which he considers harmful to health. Smoking tobacco will also be banned in the historic center of the capital Mexico City.[1].

In 2020, the President had already issued an executive order banning the import and export of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products in order to protect young people from the risk of nicotine addiction.[2]. A ban put in place in October 2021 but, according to the Deputy Minister of Health, Hugo Lopez-Gatell, merchants continued to sell off their stock. Mexico thus joins the 31 other countries in the world that have banned the sale of vaping products.

Devices that cannot be considered as “alternatives”

For Hugo Lopez-Gatell, who describes the communication around new nicotine products as "propaganda" from the tobacco industry, declaring that these products are less harmful or are less risky "alternatives" is a lie.

The Mexican government is particularly critical of the variety of flavors available and the marketing of vaping products that directly targets adolescents.

New measure strengthens regulation of nicotine products

In December 2021[3], the Mexican Senate unanimously approved amendments to the tobacco control legislation that include a total ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. The new amendments also prohibit smoking – including the use of e-cigarettes or heated tobacco products – in all spaces for collective use, bringing Mexico's anti-smoking law into line with the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which Mexico ratified in 2004.

Nearly 14 million Mexicans, or 17,000 of the population over the age of 15, smoke tobacco regularly (one in four men and one in 13 women). About 51,500 Mexicans die each year from tobacco-related diseases, representing 10,000 of all deaths in the country.

Vaping regulations tighten in Latin America

With this new regulation, Mexico joins other countries in the region[4], such as Brazil, where health authorities have imposed restrictions on the importation, marketing and advertising of electronic cigarettes. In Panama, in mid-2021, the National Assembly wanted to pass a bill to ban the use and marketing of electronic cigarettes, but President Laurentino Cortizo vetoed it.

In March 2021, the Chilean Senate passed a bill to amend the Tobacco Law and regulate the sale, advertising and consumption of electronic cigarettes, prohibiting their sale to minors. This bill is pending discussion in the Chamber of Deputies.

Keywords: Mexico, vaping, e-cigarettes, nicotine, ban

©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] Electronic cigarettes banned in Mexico, Le Monde, May 31, 2022, consulted on June 7, 2022

[2] Tobacco-free generation, Mexico bans imports of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, March 20, 2020, accessed June 7, 2022

[3] Tobacco-free generation, Mexico strengthens anti-smoking measures, December 16, 2021, accessed June 7, 2022

[4] Prohibition of sales of electronic cigars in Mexico, Los Angeles Times, May 31, 2022, accessed June 7, 2022