Salud Pública de México (Jun 2019)

Tobacco control in Mexico: A decade of progress and challenges

  • Luz Myriam Reynales-Shigematsu,
  • Heather Wipfli,
  • Jonathan Samet,
  • Justino Regalado-Pineda,
  • Mauricio Hernández-Ávila

DOI
https://doi.org/10.21149/9360
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 61, no. 3, may-jun
pp. 292 – 302

Abstract

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Mexico was the first country in the Americas to sign and ratify the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2004. More than a decade later, it is appropriate to evaluate legislative and regulatory progress and the associated challenges; and also, to propose a roadmap to prioritize the problems to be addressed to achieve long-term sustainable solutions. Mexico has made substantial progress in tobacco control. However, regulations have been only weakly enforced. The tobacco industry continues to interfere with full implementation of the WHO-FCTC. As a result, tobacco consumption remains stable at about 17.6%, with a trend upwards among vulne­rable groups: adolescents, women and low-income groups. The growing popularity of new tobacco products (electronic cigarettes or e-cigs) among young Mexicans is an increasing challenge. Our review reveals the need to implement all provisions of the WHO-FCTC in its full extent, and that laws and regulations will not be effective in decreasing the tobacco epidemic unless they are strictly enforced.

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