Tobacco (9) Lancet: Mexico bans smoking in public

30 January, 2023

Dear HIFA colleagues,

On Monday 27 February we shall start an in-depth exploration on Tobacco, with a focus on the information needs of citizens, health workers and policymakers.

Access to information is one part of the solution but is not in itself sufficient. Governments need to introduce legislation to promote public health. Below are extracts from a Lancet article that appears to show countries in Latin America are leading the way. It will be important for these countries to keep the trust of the people - including current smokers - as they roll out these policies, and for their public health leaders to track health outcomes and share their experience with other countries.

We are fortunate to have Eduardo Blanco, a tobacco control expert from Uruguay, on the HIFA forum and project working group https://www.hifa.org/support/members/eduardo

We look forward to lots of sharing of experience and expertise worldwide.

CITATION: World report| volume 401, issue 10373, p258, january 28, 2023

Mexico bans smoking in public

Sharmila Devi. The Lancet 2023

Published: January 28, 2023 DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)00166-6

New legislation to curb the harms of tobacco is among the strongest in the world. Sharmila Devi reports.

Public health experts have welcomed Mexico's ban on cigarette smoking in all public places, including hotels and beaches, after the introduction of new legislation on Jan 15, 2023...

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, praised Mexico on Jan 15, 2023, tweeting “Bravo #Mexico! WHO welcomes such a bold move on tobacco control. We call on all countries to strengthen #NoTobacco policies and help us prevent 8 million deaths every year.”

Regulations around electronic cigarettes and vapes have also been tightened, and they cannot be imported, sold, or used in public places....

“Mexico now has some of the strictest laws in Latin America and hopefully our evaluation and evidence will help other countries in the region and low-income and middle-income countries outside the region”, said Sanchez Romero. Costa Rica banned smoking in all public places last year while Brazil, El Salvador, and Chile are also considering tobacco control policies...

Best wishes, Neil

Joint Coordinator, HIFA Mental Health: Substance use disorders

https://www.hifa.org/projects/mental-health-meeting-information-needs-su...

Dr Neil Pakenham-Walsh, HIFA Coordinator

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