Mexico Senate Approves Vape Ban in Health Law Reform

The Senate of the Republic of Mexico has approved a significant reform to the General Health Law, which includes a comprehensive ban on electronic cigarettes, vapes, and similar devices. The decree project, which also addresses other health sector matters, was passed with 76 votes in favor from the Morena, PT, and PVEM parties, against 37 votes from the PAN, PRI, and MC opposition. The document has now been sent to the Federal Executive for constitutional enactment.

The debate highlighted a sharp division between prohibition and regulation. Senator Luis Donaldo Colosio Riojas (MC) criticized the prohibitionist approach, arguing it represents a government failure to regulate and establish sanitary standards. Similarly, PRI Senator Karla Guadalupe Toledo Zamora warned that banning vapes would not eliminate consumption but rather drive it into the black market, exposing youth to unregulated and potentially more harmful products.

Conversely, proponents like Senator Alfonso Cepeda Salas (Morena) defended the measure as a priority for public health and prevention, denying it criminalizes users. He emphasized the reform's alignment with broader health system improvements and anti-corruption efforts. Senator Maki Esther Ortiz Domínguez (PVEM) noted the reform also encompasses consolidated medicine purchasing and technological integration in the health sector.

Opposition voices, such as PAN Senator Gina Gerardina Campuzano González, raised concerns about the black market fueling organized crime and pointed to existing health emergencies like medicine shortages. Despite these objections and several reservations presented, the ban was approved, marking a decisive step in Mexico's anti-vaping policy.