Mexico tightens ban on smoking in public places

[TheFullMontecristo]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-64279351.amp

 

Mexico tightens ban on smoking in public places

• By Will Grant
• Mexico and Central America Correspondent

15 January 2023, 01:49 GMT

 

REUTERS

Mexico has brought into force one of the world's strictest anti-tobacco laws by enacting a total ban on smoking in public places.

The step, which was first approved in 2021, also includes a ban on tobacco advertising.

Several other Latin American countries have also passed legislation to create smoke-free public spaces.

However, Mexico's legislation is considered to be the most robust and wide-ranging in the Americas.

amounts to one of the most stringent anti-smoking laws in the world. Mexico's existing 2008 law - which created smoke-free spaces in bars, restaurants and workplaces - is now extended to an outright ban in all public spaces. That includes parks, beaches, hotels, offices and restaurants.

There will also be a total ban on the advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products, meaning that cigarettes cannot even be on show inside shops.

Vapes and e-cigarettes are also subject to tighter new restrictions, particularly indoors.

The Pan American Health Organisation has welcomed the step and applauded the Mexican government for implementing the ban.

The organisation says that tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the world, responsible for nearly a million deaths in the Americas each year, either through direct consumption or exposure to second-hand smoke.

However, some smokers are dismayed at the draconian nature of the new law.

In essence, it means that many will only be allowed to smoke in their homes or other private residences.

Others have raised questions about the practicalities of enforcing the law.

With police corruption so rampant in Mexico, many fear that rather than issuing real fines or punishments for smoking in public, some officers will use it as a pretext for taking bribes.

 

[patrickamory]

Oh man this is so sad. I really enjoyed smoking in one of the small parks in Roma this November, and also outside one of the bars in Juarez.

[Fuzz]

Wouldn't it be healthier to breath in the tobacco smoke than the air in a Mexican city?

[LLC]

I think Mexico has bigger things to worry about. I haven’t had any desire  to go to Mexico and this pretty much means I never will. 

[Puros Y Vino]

I was planning on a trip to Mexico this March or April. Guess I won't be doing so now if the hotel beaches are off limits.  😡 

[Corylax18]

Meanwhile they drink more coca cola per person than any country in the world and their Obesity and Diabetes rates have been soaring for over a decade. I wonder which cartel is benefitting the most from the underground tobacco trade. I can't see any other way laws like this would pass in Mexico. 

[SMELTZ]

Banyan Tree Myokoba in Mexico says they still are allowing cigar smoking on their 2nd floor smoking deck and their bungalows 

[hrs1]

44 minutes ago, SMELTZ said:

Banyan Tree Myokoba in Mexico says they still are allowing cigar smoking on their 2nd floor smoking deck and their bungalows 

+1

Hanging at the Grand right now.  Chilled with a few BOTLs and have had no issues outside of non-smoking patrons asking me to move, which happens everywhere.

[Kaptain Karl]

Well this is great, I'm heading down to a small botique hotel north of Puerto Vallarta on Thursday. I'm sure they wont give a shit but guess we'll see!