Protesters in Mexico Rally against E-cigarette Ban Amendment

Dozens of people protested at the Mexican House of Representatives on March 12, according to a report by the EFE agency, against President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's constitutional reform banning e-cigarettes.

"Our intention is to provide information to legislators in order to prevent the president from elevating a ban that has been repeatedly overturned by the Supreme Court to a constitutional amendment," said Luis Felipe Gamboa, coordinator of the Vaping Freedom Alliance.

In addition, organizations such as "Pro Vapeo," "the World Vapers Alliance," and "Yo Vapeo, Yo Voto" have also expressed protest, supporting the regulation of these e-cigarette devices as an alternative method to avoid smoking.

We demand a regulation to ensure that these products are not sold to minors and are quality controlled according to the standards of Cofepris (Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risk), in order to establish minimum regulations that provide consumer safety.

Alberto Gómez Fernández, a member of the World Vapers Alliance, stated that another reason they are protesting is because the ban is "completely ineffective".

It can only lead to products being sold on the black market, where these products have not undergone safety or quality controls, labeling consumers as criminals, businesses as criminals, and allowing organized crime groups to be responsible for marketing.

Furthermore, Gomez emphasized that the harm of e-cigarettes is 95% lower than that of traditional cigarettes. Countries like the UK have already implemented public policies related to e-cigarettes to help people quit smoking. He called for quality and safety control measures for e-cigarette devices and ingredients, allowing adults to purchase these products more easily.