Mexico Vape Ban Backfires: 2.5 Million Users Fuel Black Market
Mexico’s constitutional ban on e-cigarettes has failed to reduce usage, shifting the entire market into the hands of illicit smugglers. Six months into the prohibition, approximately 2.5 million vaping devices remain in circulation across the country, according to industry data.
Gastón Zambrano, Director of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs for British American Tobacco Latin America and the Caribbean (LANCAR), stated that the ban merely criminalized a previously regulated market. Before the January constitutional reform, established companies imported and sold these products legally, contributing tax revenues to the federal government.
“The prohibition did not eliminate consumption,” Zambrano noted. “Instead, about 15 billion pesos that could be collected through taxes under a regulated market now end up with organized crime syndicates who control the illicit trade.”
Because these devices enter Mexico via contraband routes, there is zero oversight regarding their manufacturing standards or ingredients. This lack of regulation exacerbates the health risks for users.
Juan José Roque Segovia, Director of Mental Health and Addiction Prevention at the Ministry of Health, warned that e-cigarettes cause severe respiratory damage. Illicit vapes frequently contain up to 20 chemical additives, including glycols, acetone, and artificial flavorings, many of which are carcinogens. Health clinics continue to treat severe cases of pneumonia and cancer directly linked to these unregulated devices.
- Read more: Mexico Enforces Total Ban on All Vaping Products and E-CigarettesÂ
- Source: Prohibición no frena uso de vapeadores; se pierden 15 mil mdp en impuestos
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