Mexico approves punishing vape sales with jail time

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.