In this video, Joanna Junak speaks with Juan José Cirión Lee, president of Mexico y el Mundo Vapeando, about the growing restrictions on vaping in Mexico. They discuss how the new ban impacts harm reduction efforts, limits public access to information, and challenges organizations working to support smokers seeking alternatives.
Hear firsthand insights on the future of vaping, public health policy, and advocacy in an increasingly restrictive environment.
Transcription:
00:14 - 00:30
[Joanna Junak]
If people can't rely on the government for information on potentially safer alternatives to smoking, are there any groups in Mexico providing guidance or support?
00:31 - 01:46
[Juan José Cirión Lee]
Yes, there are two main organizations in Mexico. I am the president of one called Mexico y el Mundo Vapeando, that means Mexico and the World Vaping. But there's another organization called Provapeo Mexico, who is always giving information to the consumers. The main point of this organization is to give information about harm reduction products in Mexico. But you know, the problem is that with the new ban, you are not allowed to talk about vaping, to promote vaping or to talk about vaping. So these two organizations are going to have a lot of problems to continue doing their job. But still, as I told you, I'm not sure how the law enforcement is going to be in Mexico. So we will see and try to continue doing what we do. Pro Vapeo Mexico is always giving information to consumers and Mexico y el Mundo Vapeando is always trying to go on trial against the prohibitions. So that's what we are going to continue doing and we will see what are the results this year.
01:48 - 01:54
[Joanna Junak]
So it seems that the government is taking a strong stance against vaping.
01:55 - 03:48
[Juan José Cirión Lee]
Well, they don't say cigarettes are fine, but they are saying that vaping is even worse than cigarettes. That's the way to justify a ban against vaping and continue selling cigarettes. Because right now we have maybe a special tax for cigarettes of 160%. So... You know, what I tell to the people who I talk is that the government, without corruption, is the main partner of the big tobacco companies. They even make more money than big tobacco companies with taxes. In Mexico, these special taxes are not... pointed to a special thing. In some countries all these special taxes go to health programs or hospitals. In Mexico they can use these special taxes in whatever they want. So it's a very good business for the government. It's a very good strategy to get the competition away. And the best way to do it is telling people lies. you have to convince people not to use a product. Right now, the first thing what happened in Mexico is that everything was going to be banned and punished with one to eight years, even using of vaping. At the end, they changed that. But the proposition or the law proposition was pointing everything. At the end, they change it and you can use them or have them for your personal use. But that's the message the government is saying. You don't have to use these kind of products.
03:50 - 03:54
[Joanna Junak]
And what's the situation with nicotine pouches?
03:54 - 04:42
[Juan José Cirión Lee]
They are not very popular. Right now they are legal. We have this legal alternative. It's not very popular. It's starting to be sold all around the country because I think they've been selling these products for maybe four or five months. They have a very high tax because the tax is not made related to damage. It's just they are tobacco products, 100% special tax. But right now in Mexico, almost no one knows how to use them and how they are a harm reduction tool to quit smoking. So we will see. We will see. But because everything is new right now.
04:44 - 04:47
[Joanna Junak]
So what do you think will happen next?
04:47 - 06:15
[Juan José Cirión Lee]
Yes. If you can let me say another thing is that I think that there will be a lot of trials trying to challenge these new laws Because they are very bad written. You cannot understand correctly what they are trying to say, what's the extent of the law. So the only way we have to challenge this law is going on a trial called, in Mexico, amparo. It's some kind of injunction. or maybe something like the U.S. trial called habeas corpus, something like that, where a judge has to check if there are violations to human rights. So I know that there are a lot of people who are going to go on these trials. You know, the problem is right now, half of the judges have been appointed by the government. and the other half are scared of the government. But still, we need to go on these legal challenges to see what is going to be the extent of the law right now. So maybe in three or four months, we will know something of what is going to happen with these laws when we see how the judges are seeing these trials.
06:17 - 06:32
[Joanna Junak]
Thank you, Juan Jose. That's all for today. Tune in next time here on GFN TV or on our podcast. You can also find transcriptions of each episode on the GFN TV website. Thanks for watching or listening. See you next time.