MEXICO APPROVES PUNISHING VAPE SALES WITH JAIL TIME

Thu 11 December 2025:

Mexico’s Congress gave final approval on Wednesday to a bill establishing penalties of up to eight years in prison for selling electronic cigarettes and similar products.

Mexico is now poised to join a handful of countries with laws imposing criminal penalties related to vaping.

Members of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Morena party had argued the measure would protect the health of young people and close legal loopholes that have allowed the devices to be promoted as safe.

Opponents of the bill claim its ambiguity could lead to abuses by authorities.

With this reform, “electronic cigarettes and other similar systems or devices” are prohibited, said Senate President Laura Itzel Castillo.

Mexico’s Senate approved the legislation on a 67-37 vote Wednesday, a day after it passed through the country’s lower chamber of Congress. It now goes to Sheinbaum’s desk to be signed into law.

The number of vape users in Mexico was estimated at 2.1 million people out of a total population of about 132 million, according to an official survey on smoking in 2023.

__________________________________________________________________________

https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22

__________________________________________________________________________

Health Risks of Vaping

Nicotine addiction (most e-liquids)
Highly addictive, raises heart rate and blood pressure, harms teen brain development (until ~25 years old).
Lung damage
Chemicals like propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and flavorings (e.g., diacetyl) can cause inflammation, popcorn lung (bronchiolitis obliterans), and EVALI (severe lung injury seen in 2019–2020 outbreak, often linked to vitamin E acetate in THC vapes).
Toxic metals & carcinogens
Heating coils leach heavy metals (nickel, lead, chromium) into the aerosol. Many liquids contain formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein — known carcinogens — especially at high temperatures.
Heart & blood vessel harm
Increases risk of heart attack and stroke; nicotine and particulates damage arteries and raise blood pressure.
Unknown long-term risks
Vaping only became widespread ~2010. We don’t yet have 30–50-year cancer data like we do with cigarettes, but early evidence shows DNA damage similar to smoking.
Second-hand aerosol
Not just water vapor — contains nicotine, ultrafine particles, and volatile organic compounds that bystanders inhale.

The U.S. Surgeon General, CDC, WHO, and National Academies of Science all agree: vaping is far less harmful than smoking cigarettes, but definitely not safe, especially for non-smokers, youth, and pregnant women. Quitting both is best for health.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

__________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

WhatsApp CHANNEL
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22