Responsible vape regulation for Mexico

MEXICO CITY Senators of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) presented an initiative that proposes the regulation of the use of electronic cigarettes, especially for those consumers who wish to quit tobacco because when used as a tool for this purpose they expose their health by ignoring the substances they ingest.

This initiative, presented by Senators Claudia Ruiz Massieu Salinas and Sylvana Beltrones Sánchez, proposes changes to various articles of the General Law for Tobacco Control, to include Heated Tobacco Products, Electronic Nicotine Administration Systems and Similar Systems Without Nicotine.

The proposal proposes that the packaging of electronic cigarettes contain sanitary warnings based on scientific evidence and include notices in the Spanish language that inform the consumer of the addictive or harmful substances they contain, the prohibition of sale to minors and the potential risks of use in pregnant women. The initiative that was sent for analysis and opinion to the Health and Legislative Studies commissions also establishes the prohibition of all forms of advertising, promotion, sponsorship or promotion of its purchase and consumption aimed at the population.

You may be interested: INER alerts risk to vapers In the explanatory statement, the PRI legislators point out that despite the efforts to reduce tobacco consumption, the results have not been satisfactory, so it remains a public health problem, since in Mexico in less than two decades the number of smokers increased from nine to 13 million. Likewise, diseases associated with smoking kill more than 53 thousand people every year, that is, 147 every day, deaths representing 10 percent of national deaths.

However, according to the 2017 National Survey on Drug, Alcohol and Tobacco Consumption, there is also an express willingness of Mexicans to quit smoking, according to the study, of 73 percent of consumers. In this context, the use of electronic cigarettes has also increased as an alternative to traditional tobacco consumption, which are identified as “Heated Tobacco Products, Electronic Nicotine Management Systems and Similar Nicotine-Free Systems”. But the substance used, commonly called vaping liquid, e-juice e-liquid or essence, usually contains different concentrations of nicotine, flavourings, propylene glycol, glycerin, acrolein and other types of additives that may include aldehydes distinguished by their harmful effects. to health.

Therefore, the PRI senators promote this reform, as many people who want to quit smoking consume them and have no warning of the risk they also run, so it is important to introduce into the law what they are made of and what they are called. And it is warned that the composition, concentration, packaging, marketing and distribution of these liquids are not regulated by any specific institution or manual. In addition, there is a lack of information related to the addictive substances they contain, as well as prohibition for minors and warnings for pregnant women.

Sourced from: www.excelsior.com.mx Senators from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) have submitted a legal proposal to regulate the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco under the General Tobacco Control Law. Under the proposal, the packaging of e-cigarettes would contain health warnings to inform the consumer “of the addictive or harmful substances they contain, the prohibition of sale to minors and the potential risks of use in pregnant women”. The draft law would also ban any advertising, promotion or sponsorship of such products.