To the cheers of non-smokers (and groans of smokers) everywhere, Mexico just put into place one of the most stringent anti-smoking rules in the world.
Since 2008, Mexico has only established non-smoking in indoor spaces such as bars, restaurants and workplaces, along with a total smoking ban on modes of public transportation. However effective Sunday, January 15, 2023, the smoking ban has been greatly extended to essentially all public areas. It’s considered to be the most robust and wide-ranging ban in the Americas, and one of the strictest in the world (to be fair, Ireland, Greece, Hungary and Malta have similar smoking bans).
Tourists, like Mexican citizens, will now find themselves fined for smoking in parks, hotels, restaurants and on beaches.
Diana Cedillo, deputy director of National Office of Tobacco Control, told the Washington Post that the smoking fines could go as high as $550. On top of that, the 2008 smoking law already on the books could mean up to 36 hours of jail time for those who refuse to cooperate.
And if you thought you were safe because you didn’t smoke cigarettes, think again. Vapes and e-cigarettes are also now subject to tighter new restrictions, especially indoors.
Some establishments will still be allowed to offer designated smoking areas, but they’re expected to be far away from most public areas.
Along with smoking, there is now also a total ban on the advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco products (including cigarettes not even being allowed to be shown inside stores). (the sale of vapes and e-cigarettes has already been banned since October 2021.)
It’s estimated that about 16% of adults in Mexico smoke. The amount of tourists in Mexico who are smokers have not been studied and is, obviously very fluid. But if they’re caught smoking in any indoor or outdoor public space while visiting the country, they expect to be fined from here on in.
Feature Photo (cropped): Marco Verch Professional Photography / flickr / CC BY 2.0
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1 comment
So, they’re legalizing pot but at the same time come up with the most draconian national anti-smoking laws in the Americas? Weird.