Mexico’s Senate approved legal reforms that could impose up to eight years in prison and fines of up to 226,000 pesos ($12,500) for the production or sale of vaporizers and electronic cigarettes, a massive increase in enforcement measures that critics call too restrictive.
The changes to the General Health Law, ratified Wednesday night by pro-government senators after being approved by the Lower House on Tuesday, now await promulgation by President Claudia Sheinbaum, who supports the legislation.
“There is this idea that not smoking tobacco or a cigarette can be substituted by using a vape, and the truth is that vapes, in some cases, are even more harmful than cigarettes,” Sheinbaum said Friday. “You shouldn’t smoke cigarettes or use vaporizers.”
Following the rise of anti-smoking measures around the world, Mexico banned smoking in most public spaces about two decades ago. In recent years, the government has focused its attention on limiting the sale of vaporizers and e-cigarettes, which are also banned in Argentina and Brazil amid growing concern about health impacts.
Mexico has not banned the actual use of vaporizers.
Sheinbaum said the government is working with state authorities to curb potential illegal markets for these products, noting concerns about the involvement of organized crime. He did not discuss when the new rules would take effect.
Opposition senator Luis Colosio criticized the reforms, calling them “prohibitionist.” During Thursday’s debate, he said the government was avoiding its responsibility to regulate and monitor the industry by opting for an outright ban.
“Bans are nothing more than an easy way out of a problem they do not want or cannot control,” Colosio said.
Despite the measures, vaporizers and e-cigarettes remain available in retail stores in Mexico City, and authorities have yet to outline plans to address street sales.
“It would be good if they banned them because people like me keep buying them, and the truth is they are very cheap everywhere,” a Mexico City resident identified as Valentina told the station. MilenioTV.
