Activists in favor of vapers and electronic cigarettes pointed out that the legislative reforms approved on Tuesday to the General Health Law to prohibit the entire distribution and sale chain of these devices formalize the delivery to organized crime of the distribution and sale of at least five million devices per month in Mexico.
Consumers and users were finally excluded from the ban, after a specific discussion of the reforms, although in the first instance the deputies had generally approved the total ban on vapers and electronic cigarettes.
Now, the legislative reform will be taken to the Senate for its next discussion and final approval, which is expected to advance without problems before the majority of the ruling party.
The president of the México y el Mundo Vapeando collective, Juan José Cirión Lee, regretted in a statement that legislators “have completed banning vaping in the country.”
This, he said, despite the “enough” scientific evidence available and that in several countries, such as France and the United Kingdom, vaporizers are already part of public policies to combat smoking, since they are 95% less harmful than conventional cigarettes.
Additional information: Sheinbaum defends the ban on vapes because ‘they do a lot of damage to health’
In this sense, the activist assured that the approved reform “formalizes the delivery of the vaping market to criminal gangs”, which have been favored by the absurd and harmful prohibitionist policy that began in February 2020 with the issuance of presidential decrees against vaporizers and that reached its ridiculous peak with the constitutional reform approved in December 2024.
5.2 million vapes are purchased per month
According to data from the organization, it is estimated that in Mexico there are around 2.8 million vaporizer consumers, of which 2.3 million purchase disposable devices that are usually used in approximately one week, so about 5.2 million of these products are purchased each month, which would be distributed, marketed and introduced into the country via smuggling by criminal gangs.
Cirión Lee urged the Senate to scrap the initiative and move forward with the formulation of a regulatory framework that defines rules for the importation, distribution and sale of vaporizers.
“This, with the understanding that they legislate in favor of public health and do not follow political lines that will be very harmful to the country: such as funding criminal gangs, consumption among minors, tax evasion, in addition to hindering the fight against smoking; generating conflicts with the United States; among other scourges,” he concluded.
This Wednesday, President Claudia Sheinbaum defended the nationwide ban on the sale, production and distribution of vapes and electronic cigarettes because “they do a lot of harm to health.”
Sheinbaum applauded that the constitutional prohibition is also in the General Health Law, after the approval on Tuesday of a legislative reform that she sent to the Chamber of Deputies.
“Vapers do a lot of damage to your health. There is this idea that if you don’t smoke a cigarette and use a vape, it has less damage and in reality the vape has a lot of substances and materials that do a lot of damage,” Sheinbaum said in his press conference.
He also celebrated that the law already includes sanctions, “especially for those who sell vaping devices,” which range from one to eight years in prison and a fine of up to 226,280 pesos.
With information from EFE
Follow us on Google News to always stay informed