Mexico’s Supreme Court Rules Previously Issued Vaping Ban Illegal

According to foreign media reports, the presidential decree banning the sale of e-cigarettes has been ruled unconstitutional by Mexico's Supreme Court.

The court's second chamber ruled with three votes in favor, stating that the decree violates the right to commercial freedom.

This ruling only allows the retailers involved in the case to sell e-cigarettes.

In the decision of the full court meeting, the Mexican Supreme Court found the interpretation of Article 16 (VI) prohibiting e-cigarettes to be unconstitutional; however, this ruling does not automatically abolish the ban on e-cigarettes under Article 16 (VI).

Instead, if a retailer wants to sell e-cigarettes, he/she must file a legal lawsuit to declare the ban unconstitutional in their specific case.

Therefore, e-cigarettes are still prohibited for now.

Alberto Gomez Hernandez, policy manager of the World Vaping Alliance, welcomed the decision of the Mexican Supreme Court, adding that the decree violated the company's right to commercial freedom and infringed upon the health rights and personal freedom development rights of Mexican adults. "Mexicans should have the freedom to decide how they consume nicotine," he said in an email release.

The unconstitutional declaration was made through an "amparo" lawsuit in Mexico, which allows businesses to seek legal protection or obtain permission not to comply with regulations that infringe on their rights.

Since this ruling only applies to specific cases and businesses, the overall ban will remain unchanged, but it indicates that even the Mexican Supreme Court believes that banning vapor products is unconstitutional.

"Although this ruling does not establish a legal precedent, we hope that the government or judicial authorities will lift this ban as soon as possible," Gomez said. "This ban has failed; it exacerbates Mexico's public health issues related to smoking and creates a huge black market controlled by organized crime.

"Mexico needs to abandon the ban and adopt strategies that include using less harmful nicotine products as smoking cessation tools. It should follow the example of Sweden, which is set to become the first smoke-free country, and the UK, which encourages the use of e-cigarettes for quitting smoking."