Belize is advancing its Tobacco Control Bill 2025, with first readings complete and second and third readings scheduled next week. Dr. Melissa Diaz Musa, Director of Public Health & Wellness, described the legislation as “strong” and aimed at regulating tobacco like other legal substances to protect public health.
The bill seeks to curb tobacco use and related non-communicable diseases, drawing public support for stricter regulations similar to seatbelt or driver licensing laws.
While reporting on the bill, 7 News Belize wrote, “while the bill is progressive, in a jarring contradiction we must note that due to the tobacco trade coming out of the northern and western free zones, Belize is the number one tobacco importer in all of Central America and it feeds cheap Chinese cigarettes into Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala through legal and illegal crossings.”