Mexican Chamber of Deputies Approves New Legislation to Ban the Illicit Use of E-Cigarettes

According to El Mexicano, on December 3rd, the Mexican Chamber of Deputies passed a bill with 410 votes in favor, 24 against, and zero abstentions, which prohibits the illegal use of products such as fentanyl and e-cigarettes in the constitution.

This reform is part of a package of 20 initiatives proposed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The move comes after the 2022 National Health and Nutrition Survey revealed that e-cigarette use among adolescents reached 2.6% of the reference population (approximately 500 individuals) and 1.5% of the adult population (around 300,000 individuals), contributing to negative health impacts.

The Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) reported that in 2022, around five million people aged 12 to 65 had tried vaping devices, with 975,000 using them regularly.

In response to these figures, the approved reform adds provisions to Articles 4 and 5 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, aimed at enhancing health protection. It establishes that "to ensure the right to health protection for individuals, the law will penalize any activity related to e-cigarettes, vaping devices, and other similar electronic systems or devices, as well as the production, distribution, and sale of toxic substances, chemical precursors, the illicit use of fentanyl, and other unauthorized synthetic drugs."

The amendment also prohibits professions, industries, internal and external commerce, employment, or any other activity related to these substances.

The law specifies the prohibition of the production, distribution, and sale of toxic substances, chemical precursors, and the illicit use of unauthorized synthetic drugs such as fentanyl and methamphetamines.

The reform stipulates that the Congress of the Union will have 180 days to harmonize existing legal frameworks with the decree's contents, and each of Mexico's 32 states must make the required regulatory adjustments within 365 days of the reform's publication.

The Plenary session clarified that no additional funds would be authorized for the implementation of this decree. All costs resulting from its enactment will be covered by the existing budgets of the responsible authorities for the current fiscal year.