Mexico introduces total ban on smoking in public places

M exico has completely banned cigarette smoking in all public places, including at hotels and on beaches, in one of the world’s strictest anti-tobacco laws. The move was first approved in 2021, building on a 2008 ban which applied to public transport, bars, workplaces and restaurants. But the ban has taken on new force from 15 January, as the legislation has now been expanded to include all indoor and outdoor public spaces, such as hotels, resorts, beaches, parks and anywhere that children might gather. The only legal place to smoke tobacco in Mexico now is inside private homes or private outdoor spaces.

Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the world.

–The Pan American Health Organisation

The anti-tobacco law is not only limited to smoking in public areas but now there is a total ban on the advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products, so you won’t even be able to see cigarettes inside shops. Regulations around electronic cigarettes and vapes have been tightened, so devices cannot be imported, sold or used in public spaces in Mexico. If you break the law, you face a fine of between $50 and $300, and those who refuse to cooperate could also spend 36 hours in prison.

Many Mexicans seem unconvinced that the law will make a positive difference. One man said: “It’s good because smoking is harmful, but at the same time it’s bad because you should be able to do whatever you want with your health.” A restaurant worker warned: “People won’t come in for drinks any more because everyone smokes nowadays. Everyone wants to smoke, so our sales are going to go down.” 16% of adults in Mexico are tobacco smokers, so that’s a big chunk of the market that businesses might lose. There have also been questions raised about how practical it is to actually enforce this law in the first place, as well as concerns that corrupt police officers may use fines as a pretext for taking bribes.

If you break the law, you face a fine of between $50 and $300, and those who refuse to cooperate could also spend 36 hours in prison.

However, there has also been much praise from health bodies. The Pan American Health Organisation said that “tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the world.” According to their data, “it’s responsible for around a million deaths in the Americas each year, either through direct consumption or exposure to second-hand smoke.” As a result, it has strongly endorsed the actions of the Mexican government. On Twitter, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation, said: “Bravo Mexico! WHO welcomes such a bold move on tobacco control. We call on all countries to strengthen No Tobacco policies and help us prevent eight million deaths every year.”

16% of adults in Mexico are tobacco smokers, so that’s a big chunk of the market that businesses might lose.

The move also brings Mexico in line with other Latin and South American countries (such as Colombia and Brazil) which have introduced their own legislation to cut down on public smoking. Although Mexico’s example is one of the strictest, lots of countries are starting to curb smoking through the law. Ireland, Greece, Hungary and Malta have similar restrictions in place, and Costa Rica last year banned smoking in all public places. Some cities, such as Barcelona, have banned smoking on beaches to stop cigarette butt littering, and the French ski resort of Les Gets banned smoking from its communal area to prevent butts from polluting the environment. There are many restrictions around vaping and e-cigarettes in countries such as Colombia, Iran and Australia, and New Zealand last year introduced legislation to phase in a near-total tobacco ban through raising the legal age each year.

The overarching question here is, what will happen? It’s essentially impossible to predict. Analyst views have ranged from an end to smoking in Mexico, to a resurgence of an underground black market. The government is hoping that it will have a dual impact, cutting down on the number of smokers (thus improving public health) as well as helping the environment by eliminating some of the roughly 4.5 trillion filters that pollute the landscape and the thousands of metric tons of chemicals emitted by smokers. Whatever the immediate impact, it’s likely to have a knock-on effect around the region, with more Latin American nations considering tobacco control policies in their populations. If the Mexico plan succeeds, its biggest success may be in the policies it inspires.