Mexico’s Senate has approved a plan to punish people convicted of producing or selling vapes with up to eight years in prison.
The plan doesn’t make the use of vapes illegal in Mexico, but does crack down on sellers and producers of e-cigarettes in the country. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum backs the change and is expected to sign it into law.
“There’s this idea that if you don’t smoke cigarettes and use a vape instead, it does less harm," Sheinbaum told reporters this week. “But in reality, vapes have many substances and materials that do a lot of harm.”
Critics of the change in Mexico’s Senate say it doesn’t address the root causes of e-cigarette use and could feed the black market for vapes.
In addition to jail time, selling or producing vapes could be punished by fines of over $12,000 USD under the plan.
Smoking cigarettes, including e-cigarettes, has been prohibited in most public places in Mexico for nearly two decades.
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