Mexico's blanket ban on public smoking one of world's strictest anti-tobacco laws

Mexico has enforced a complete ban on smoking in public places Sunday, thus implementing one of the most stringent anti-tobacco laws in the world. According to BBC, the move was first cleared in 2021. The policy prohibits the promotion and advertisement of smoking. The law follows Mexico's 2008 legislation to set up smoke-free zones in offices, restaurants and pubs. Now, the ban extends to all public places, including hotels, beaches, and parks.

Furthermore, the new anti-smoking law also enforces a complete ban on promoting, sponsoring, and advertising tobacco products. This means that going forward, it will be forbidden to even put cigarettes on display inside stores.

Moreover, alternatives such as e-cigarettes and vapes will also face new restrictions, specifically when used indoors. The ban has garnered appreciation from the WHO’s Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), which lauded the Mexican government and said that the move was necessary as the use of tobacco continues to be the single-biggest preventable cause of death. WHO said nearly one million deaths occur in the Americas annually, either through direct use or passive smoking.

Loopholes in the ban

However, one loophole in the ban is that smokers can still use private spaces and residences to engage in the hazardous act. “This law adopted the measures of the WHO FCTC, but only partially,” said Adriana Bacelar Gomes, Tobacco Surveillance Specialist at PAHO.

“For example, while it proposed smoke-free public places, it still allowed for designated areas where people could smoke indoors, which fails to protect the public from second-hand smoke,” Gomes said, according to an article on the PAHO website.

Smokers in Mexico, however, have called the ban "impractical". They say the law will only serve to drive up police corruption as law enforcement will be able to use fines and penalties to take bribes from those who smoke in public.