Ángeles Cruz Martínez
La Jornada Newspaper
Tuesday, November 25, 2025, p. 21
Civil organizations urged deputies and senators to incorporate other devices such as heated tobacco devices and nicotine bags in the initiative to reform the General Health Law – which prohibits electronic cigarettes and vaping devices – as they are part of the tobacco industry’s strategy to promote addiction, mainly in adolescents.
In a conference with a view to the Health Commission of the Chamber of Deputies meeting to vote on the project sent by President Claudia Sheinbaum, they warned of the risk that, under the pretext of reviewing the document, the door will be opened to negotiation with companies – as happened a few weeks ago with the soft drink industry – and commercial interests will be imposed over the health of Mexicans.
Adriana Rocha, a member of Polithink, maintained that any talk or negotiation with the industry is a violation of the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, ratified by Mexico, which states that manufacturers should not be considered in any conversation about health policies.
Nor should any type of assistance be accepted to carry out the legislative process, the activist stressed, following the announcement by Ricardo Monreal, coordinator of the Morena deputies, that the project sent by Sheinbaum would be reviewed to make any necessary adjustments.
Guadalupe Ponciano, coordinator of the Interinstitutional Committee to Fight Tobacco, stated that there is scientific evidence that “all tobacco and nicotine products are harmful” and that there is no safe level of use, since they all carry the risk of addiction because nicotine is one of the most addictive drugs.
He highlighted that only due to the use of traditional cigarettes, more than 63 thousand deaths are recorded each year in Mexico, which is equivalent to 173 deaths every day. The figure still does not include the effects caused by electronic nicotine delivery systems, such as vapers, electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco devices.
He recalled that for decades manufacturers have had a discourse of “lower risk,” just as when they introduced cigarettes with filters or light. Now, with combustion-free products, they also lie about a supposed lesser impact on consumers.
