Huge country bans vaping with 8 years in jail warning | World | News
A big country is preparing to ban electronic cigarettes. The Mexican legislature has approved a bill banning the commercialization, production, import, export, distribution and sale of e-cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and similar devices.
Approved for public health, especially the health of young people. Anyone who breaks the law faces a prison sentence of between one and eight years, as well as a fine of up to £9,380. Lawmakers added a final paragraph clarifying that users carrying no more than two e-cigarettes or e-cigarettes would not face prosecution. Now it’s waiting for Claudia Sheinbaum, the chairwoman who supported the bill, to sign it into law. He said: “There is an idea that not smoking tobacco or smoking can be replaced by using e-cigarettes, and the truth is that e-cigarettes are in some cases even more harmful than cigarettes. You should not smoke and you should not use e-cigarettes.” Neighborhood residents also support the ban. Mexico City resident Valentina said: “It would be nice if they banned these because people like me keep buying them and the truth is they are very cheap everywhere.”
The president noted concerns about the involvement of organized crime, stating that the government would work with state authorities to limit emerging illicit markets.
Reacting to the ban, Citizen Movement (MC) party MP Iraís Reyes said: “Not regulating a product that people already consume means more black market and more money for drug traffickers; drug traffickers will get their Christmas bonus this December thanks to Morena.”
He added that the legislators who approved the bill were “hypocrites” and said: “You vaping. We’ve seen you. I don’t know how you can come here and propose a ban when you’re using e-cigarettes yourself.”
Opposition Senator Luis Colosio said the government was avoiding its responsibility to regulate and monitor the industry by banning e-cigarettes outright, saying: “Bans are nothing more than an easy way to get rid of a problem they don’t want or can’t control.”
Electronic cigarettes and e-cigarettes are already banned in Argentina and Brazil. Brazil strengthened its ban on e-cigarettes in 2024, making all products illegal even for personal use. There has been a ban on e-cigarettes in Argentina since 2011.
Disposable e-cigarettes have been banned in the UK since July this year. In 2023, approximately five million disposable e-cigarettes were being thrown away per week.
