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Establishments may be subject to fines from 60,000 to half a million pesos for allowing customers to smoke in their facilities.
To the population that does not respect the 100% smoke-free spaces, quotas of up to 3 thousand pesos will also be imposed or arrested for 36 hours.
The measure aims to reduce the smoking rate in Mexico and limit consumption spaces in public and commercial areas.
The General Law for Tobacco Control, which entered into force on January 15, 2023, has generated controversy, confusion and annoyance among consumers and operators of the tobacco industry, something that is analyzed for Merca2.0 by Mariano Calderon, Member of Santamarina + Steta.
And it is that, from this week, cigarettes should not be seen in print or digital media, on flyers, billboards, posters or signs, as well as in advertisements via radio, cinema, television, theater, live shows, cinematographic films or communication via satellite. In business terms, Any type of communication that promotes or incites the use of tobacco products, brands or manufacturers is prohibited, whether by correspondence, postal service or email, which has a direct impact on advertising and product display at points of sale.
As for the civil roadThis regulation limits smokers to lighting a cigarette in workplaces, public transport, schools, venues for shows, hotels, stadiums, shopping malls, beaches, parks or public places with access to adolescents.
The federal government has justified the implementation of this decree on the grounds of public health and the search for a reduction in the rate of smoking, since, according to the latest Report on Tobacco Control in the Region of the Americas 2022, of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Mexico It ranks as the sixth country with the most adult smokers, with a 13.1 percent prevalence of consumption; in front of Canada, with 13 percent; Brazil, with 12.8 percent; Y Bolivia, with 12.7 percent.
However, despite the intentions, the repercussions of this regulation are so harsh that, among other things, they would affect more than 1.2 million establishments and jobs related to them.
About, Mariano Calderonan expert in constitutional, administrative and fiscal litigation, does see a panorama full of amparo processes in the coming months, since neither the industry nor the population will fully accept the restrictions that the General Law for Tobacco Control imposes.
“It is an unconstitutionality from the moment in which the product that is sought to be regulated is not illegal; This is very important because tobacco is completely legal in Mexico, unlike cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and other substances that are prohibited. So, what this Law is doing is further complicating the sale of a legal product that should have the same opportunity in the market”.
“We are talking about a movement that punishes formal commerce, established commerce, those of us who pay taxes and who comply with regulations, permits, and processes. Clearly the chambers (such as Anpec or Canirac) do not agree that they should be further prohibited and put their economy at risk, especially coming from a government that boasted this line of action of ‘forbidden to prohibit’“.
And it is that, according to the lawyer, this measure -commercially speaking- leaves the industry practically without options to decide how to manage its establishments, its spaces and its clientele; It is a kind of segregation that sanctions, without due process, a natural act of the consumer promoted by his own resources and his free will, that is, it limits both the operational chain of tobacco companies, brands, restaurants, points of sale and local establishments , which gradually makes it impossible to sell and consume without having to say that it is “illegalized”.
Seen from the impact on the citizen, the expert explains that the issue falls on an issue, including human rights, where the free expression of people is restricted and their freedom to consume in public and private spaces is made impossible.
“Speaking of a completely constitutional issue, without getting into health issues, you know that smoking is harmful, that there are high mortality rates and etc., but you decide what you put into your body, especially since we are talking about a legal product that is allowed to be sold and used; So, fencing off all spaces for this population is a human rights issue.”
Mariano Calderon joins the voices of specialists who foresee a negative impact on the tobacco market with the new Law, considering that it will only promote piracy, extortion and smuggling in areas of high demand.
His estimate is not so far from reality if we take into account that today the black market already dominates 20 percent of the national sale of tobacco in Mexico, that is, 2 out of 10 cigarettes are contraband and can be obtained. in informal commerce, on cruise ships, subway stops, streets and in broad daylight, according to data from the National Alliance of Small Merchants (Anpec).
“It will have an impact on corruption issues (…) now any police officer will see you smoking and may fall for threats of fines and sanctions.”
With this panorama, we still have to wait for the multiple protections that the industry and small merchants promote against the conditions that will reduce the production and distribution of their product, for which reason, this case will probably be much to talk about in 2023.
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