Tag: Mexico

  • Mexico’s Lower House Passes Ban on E-cigarettes

    Mexico’s Lower House Passes Ban on E-cigarettes

    The lower house of Mexico’s Congress voted to alter the constitution to include a ban on e-cigarettes, reports Reuters. The measure passed with 410 votes in favor and 24 against.

    The reform also sanctions “production, distribution and sale of toxic substances, chemical precursors, the illicit use of fentanyl and other non-authorized synthetic drugs.”

    Less than 1 million people from ages 12 to 65 reported regularly using a vape in 2022, according to federal data cited by lawmakers. Meanwhile, around 500,000 teens and 300,000 adults used e-cigarettes.

    The proposal was sent to Congress by former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who argued that smoking devices were damaging public health, with children particularly susceptible to getting hooked.

    Lopez Obrador had already banned such devices through a presidential decree, though they remain widely available for purchase. Millions of Mexicans, meanwhile, smoke traditional cigarettes, which remain legal.

    Opposition legislator Ector Jaime Ramirez said banning fentanyl and vaping in the same reform was excessive and “trivializing to the effort being made to combat the most addictive and dangerous drugs.”

  • Top Court Strikes Down Vape Import Ban

    Top Court Strikes Down Vape Import Ban

    Image: nanoenomar

    Mexico’s ban on imports of e-cigarettes and related products is unconstitutional, the nation’s top court ruled, reports Meganoticias.

    The First Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation determined that the prohibition imposes excessive restrictions on commercial freedom of Philip Morris Mexico.

    The ruling is limited to Philip Morris Mexico and does not affect similar products that could be brought to market in the future.

    It protects Philip Morris Mexico from future restrictions and sets a legal precedent that could influence future litigation. The judgment specifies that this protection will be maintained until the government amends its General Import and Export Taxation Act.

    According to the Mexican government, an estimated 938,000 teenagers have tried electronic nicotine delivery systems, and about 160,000 use them regularly

    Despite the import ban, vaping has spread rapidly. In 2023, there were an estimated 2.1 million e-cigarette users in Mexico, compared with 975,000 in 2019.

    The Philip Morris Mexico case stems from an October 2022 Supreme Court ruling that deemed some prohibitions on ENDS unconstitutional and allowed certain groups to apply  for permission to continue the import and sale of these products.

  • Protesters Demand End to Mexico’s Vape Ban

    Protesters Demand End to Mexico’s Vape Ban

    Image: Sansert

    Vapers protested in front of Mexico’s Congress of the Union, calling for the country’s vaping ban to be replaced with risk-based regulation. The protest was organized by the World Vapers’ Alliance and All Vape Mexico.

    The protesters also demanded a halt to the constitutional reform proposed by President Andres Mauel Lopez Obrador that would elevate the ban to the Constitution. In addition, they called for approval of a risk-based regulation allowing adult smokers access to vapor products to quit smoking combustible cigarettes.

    Mexico’s vaping ban has been in place since May 2020.

    “The ban was introduced in order to prevent underage vaping; however, minors now have full access to potentially dangerous products on the black market,” said Alberto Gomez Hernandez, policy manager of the World Vapers’ Alliance. “At the same time, smokers who want to quit smoking have difficulty finding safe vaping products. The ban has clearly been a failure and must be reversed as soon as possible. Legislation cannot be based on whim or ideology; it must be based on scientific evidence and the experience of other countries that have had good results.”

    Vapes can easily be obtained on the informal market from underground vape shops and on the black market, which is controlled by organized crime groups.

    “It is very unfortunate that the federal government thought that the ban would prevent many young people from having access to vaping and does not give people who want to quit smoking the opportunity to use this option,” said Deputy Sergio Barrera. “We need to have clear rules. We need to know who can produce it, who can distribute it and who can consume it, and that is why we are pushing for regulation.”

    “The president sees a problem where there is actually a solution to smoking,” said Antonio Toscano, All Vape Mexico spokesperson. “His prohibitionist stance unprotects adult users, who are forced to buy black market products, where there are no quality controls, let alone controls on sales to minors. Prohibition is a danger to public health; good regulation could benefit public health enormously and save millions of lives.”

  • Mexico Vape Ban Ruled Unconstitutional

    Mexico Vape Ban Ruled Unconstitutional

    Image: mehaniq41

    Mexico’s ban on the sale of e-cigarettes is unconstitutional, the nation’s top arbiter ruled, according to Reuters. The Second Chamber of the Supreme Court found that the presidential decree that established the prohibition contravenes freedom of commerce.

    The ruling permits only retailers who were parties to the case to sell e-cigarettes, however. If other retailers want to sell e-cigarettes, they must file their own court cases to declare the unconstitutionality of the ban in their specific instances.

    Alberto Gomez Hernandez, policy manager of the World Vapers’ Alliance, welcomed the decision of Mexico’s high court, saying that the decree violates not only the freedom of trade of the companies but also the right to health of Mexican adults. “Mexicans should be free to decide how they consume nicotine,” Gomez said in a statement.

    Although the ruling does not establish jurisprudence, we hope that the government or the judiciary will reverse the ban soon.

    Alberto Gomez Hernandez, policy manager, WVA

    The declaration of unconstitutionality was carried out in an amparo lawsuit—a type of lawsuit in Mexico through which a company can seek legal protection or permission not to abide by regulation that violates its rights.

    The general ban will stay in place since the ruling applies only to that specific case and business.

    “Although the ruling does not establish jurisprudence, we hope that the government or the judiciary will reverse the ban soon,” said Gomez. “The ban has failed; it has aggravated the public health problem of smoking in Mexico and has created a huge black market controlled by mafias.

    “Mexico needs to abandon the ban and adopt a strategy that includes the use of less harmful nicotine products as a smoking cessation tool. It should follow the example of Sweden, which is about to become the first smoke-free country, and the U.K., which promotes the use of vapes to quit smoking.”

  • Mexico Outlaws E-Cigarettes

    Mexico Outlaws E-Cigarettes

    Photo: niroworld

    Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador signed a decree on May 31 outlawing the sale of e-cigarettes, reports AP.

    Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López Gatell lashed out at industry claims that vaping is safer than smoking, calling it “a big lie.”

    Mexico has aggressively legislated against vapor products. Imports of vaping devices have been prohibited since at least October. Before that, legislators used consumer protection and other laws to discourage sales.

    Despite the most recent decree, many Mexicans import or buy vaping cartridges or fluid illicitly.

    At least 5 million Mexicans have tried vaping at least once, according to government figures.

  • New Tobacco Restrictions in Mexico

    New Tobacco Restrictions in Mexico

    Photo: Andrea Izzotti

    Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has published a new tobacco control law that includes bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, alongside restrictions on public smoking.

    Under the new law, the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products will also be prohibited in indoor public places.

    According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), about 30 percent of youth are exposed to secondhand smoke in hospitality venues in Mexico.

    “Mexico’s comprehensive law is a victory not only for public health, but for the government champions and advocates in Mexico who worked tirelessly to ensure this life-saving measure was enacted,” wrote CFTK Director of Latin American Programs Patricia Sosa in a statement. “It is critical that the Mexican government ensure swift implementation of the new law so that all Mexicans can truly be protected from the deadly tactics of Big Tobacco companies.

  • Mexico Senate OKs New Tobacco Restrictions

    Mexico Senate OKs New Tobacco Restrictions

    Photo: JustLife

    The Senate of Mexico on Dec. 14 approved amendments to the General Law on Tobacco Control that include a complete ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. They also prohibit smoking and vaping—including the use of heated tobacco products—in any indoor public spaces, as specified by the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which Mexico ratified in 2004.

    Once the law is referred to the President and published, Mexico will become 100 percent smoke-free and join a community of 23 countries in the Americas that entirely ban indoor smoking.

    Anti-smoking activists welcomed the development. “We applaud President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the head of the Undersecretariat of Prevention and Health Promotion at the Mexican Secretariat of Health, Dr. Hugo López-Gatell, for playing a pivotal role in the approval of the reform, and all the deputies, senators and government officials for protecting the health of their people and standing up to the tobacco industry’s persistent interference,” the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids wrote on its website.

  • Mexico: Nearly One in Five Cigarettes Illicit

    Mexico: Nearly One in Five Cigarettes Illicit

    Photo: Hassan

    Illicit products account for 18.8 percent of Mexico’s cigarette market, reports Mexico Daily, citing a report released by the Confederation of Industrial Chambers of Mexico (Concamin). The figure is up from just 2 percent in 2011.

    The illicit trade has cost the government an estimated MXN13.5 billion ($667 million) in uncollected excise and VAT taxes. The report added that the illicit sales create unfair competition for legitimate sellers and noted that the black market was helping to fund criminal activities, which negatively affect public security.

    Concamin said that two-thirds of illegal cigarettes do not carry the security code that proves compliance with tax regulations “Illegal cigarettes are a multidimensional problem that has become sophisticated in recent years,” it noted.” Although before there was no local production of illegal cigarettes, today we can see in the market many brands do not have the security code that the government requires through the [tax regulator] SAT. This dynamic represents two-thirds of the problem.”

    The Federal Commission for Protection Against Health Risks reported that there are more than 245 brands of illegal cigarettes in Mexico, mainly of Chinese origin, with the brands Win and Brass standing out as leaders in the cigarette contraband market, with 6.7 percent of total cigarette sales.

  • Heated Tobacco Exempted from Ban

    Heated Tobacco Exempted from Ban

    Photo: niyazz

    Mexico’s Supreme Court has ruled that heated-tobacco products (HTPs) will be exempted from a February 2020 presidential decree that bans importation of electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS), reports Filter.

    Prior to the on July 16 ruling, manufacturers were able to import and sell HTPs legally using a loophole in the law called “habeas corpus trials.” But the loophole prevented the development of a fully regulated, legal market. The new presidential decree reverses that and allows for increased sales of these devices.

    Vapor products that use e-liquids continue to be banned by the Mexican government. According to Roberto Sussman, a researcher at the National University of Mexico and president of Pro-Vapeo Mexico, the vapor market in Mexico has been functioning since 2009 as part of the huge informal economy, which employs more than 50 percent of the workforce, and it is illegal but not criminal.

    It was an embarrassment for President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has expressed opposition to foreign NGOs and agents meddling with Mexican government regulations.

    Roberto Sussman, president, Po-Vapeo Mexico

    More than 1.2 million Mexicans—1 percent of the adult population—use vapor products somewhat regularly, according to a survey by the Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction.

    According to Filter, a fatal blow to the HTP ban came when it was leaked that the draft of the decree was written by a lawyer working for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

    “It was an embarrassment for President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has expressed opposition to foreign NGOs and agents meddling with Mexican government regulations,” said Roberto Sussman.

    It’s not the first time Mexico’s Supreme Court intervened in the country’s drug policy. On June 28, it stepped in to legalize marijuana after lawmakers had failed to finalize the legislation the court demanded three years earlier.

  • Smoking-rate rise in Mexico

    Smoking-rate rise in Mexico

    Smoking rates in Mexico increased during the past five years despite campaigns, initiatives and laws aimed at discouraging tobacco use, according to a story in the Mexico News Daily citing the results of a national survey.

    The 2016-2017 National Drug, Alcohol and Tobacco Consumption Survey showed that smoking prevalence among those 12 to 65 years of age rose from 17.0 percent in 2011 to 17.6 percent in 2016. During the same period, the average number of cigarettes individuals smoked each day increased from 6.5 to 7.3.

    Of Mexico’s 14.9 million smokers, nearly 11.1 million are men, among whom smoking rates increased from 25.2 percent to 27.1 percent during the period studied.

    There are about 3.8 million women smokers, but their proportion within the population as a whole fell from 9.3 percent to 8.7 percent.

    The survey found that, on average, smokers spend 282 pesos (US$14.80) a month on their habit, with a pack of 20 cigarettes generally costing about 50 pesos (US$2.60).

    Although laws banning smoking in public places such as restaurants, bars and workplaces went into effect in 2008, the survey called their effectiveness into question.

    The survey found that non-smokers were exposed to the risk of passive smoking in public spaces such as bars, restaurants, public transport, schools and workplaces.

    Meanwhile, the widespread flouting of a 25-year-old law designed to prevent the sale of single cigarettes is said to make smoking more financially accessible. Fifty per cent of smokers surveyed said they bought cigarettes from vendors who sold them separately, usually for about five pesos (US$0.26) each.