Nearly 60 Million Mexicans Are Now Protected from Exposure to Secondhand Tobacco Smoke

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On September 29 Aguascalientes became the 13th state of the United Mexican States to pass a law mandating 100 percent smoke-free areas in workplaces and all indoor public spaces, with no exceptions. With the publication of this law, Aguascalientes also became the second Mexican state that extends the smoking ban in enclosed places to all electronic cigarettes, with or without nicotine, and to other devices such as heated tobacco products.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids congratulates the Aguascalientes governor and legislators who strongly supported this exemplary law, demonstrating their commitment to protecting the health of their citizens. Tobacco-Free Kids also praises civil society organization CODICE for promoting the new policy, which will protect the people of Aguascalientes from the harms of secondhand smoke.

Tobacco use is a global epidemic with serious health, social, and economic consequences. In Mexico, according to the National Survey of Drug, Alcohol, and Tobacco Consumption 2016-2017, 17.6 percent of the population smokes, and about eight percent of all deaths are related to tobacco consumption. While the new law marks a great step forward for tobacco control in Mexico, the national congress must now follow the example of Aguascalientes and adopt a federal law that would grant all Mexican citizens 100 percent smoke-free environments, as is already the case in 20 countries in the region of the Americas.