Peru Squeezes Big Tobacco

Peru’s Congress has approved a tobacco control law that health advocates say will save lives.

The new legislation not only bans tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, but also expands the size of mandatory pictorial health warning labels on tobacco products, including cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs). In addition, the law prohibits the use of tobacco and e-cigarettes in many public spaces.

Anti-tobacco activists welcomed the new legislation, and encouraged the executive branch to quickly sign it into law. “Peru’s new tobacco control regulations must be swiftly enacted and strongly enforced to ensure that these crucial public health measures can save as many lives as possible,” said Patricia Sosa, director of Latin America Programs at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, in a statement.

Peru is a party to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which obligates the country to implement measures to address tobacco use. Such measures include smoke-free public places, warning labels on tobacco products, increased tobacco taxes and restrictions on tobacco advertising.

While lauding Peru’s new legislation, Sosa said that  additional protections are needed to address gaps in the new law. She noted that warning labels on e-cigarettes are text-only and smaller than those on combustible cigarettes, while advertising restrictions are not as comprehensive.

“More robust regulation of these addictive products is essential to protect public health, especially younger generations—particularly given how tobacco and e-cigarette companies market these products to young people in Peru and around the world,” said Sosa.