Tobacco control in Mexico: a decade of progress and challenges.

Tobacco control in Mexico: a decade of progress and challenges. Salud Publica Mex. 2019 May-Jun;61(3):292-302 Authors: Reynales-Shigematsu LM, Wipfli H, Samet J, Regalado-Pineda J, Hernández-Ávila M Abstract Mexico was the first country in the Americas to sign and ratify the World Health Organization's (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2004. More than a decade later, it is appropriate to evaluate legislative and regulatory progress and the associated challenges; and also, to propose a roadmap to prioritize the problems to be addressed to achieve long-term sustainable solutions. Mexico has made substantial progress in tobacco control. However, regulations have been only weakly enforced. The tobacco industry continues to interfere with full implementation of the WHO-FCTC. As a result, tobacco consumption remains stable at about 17.6%, with a trend upwards among vulnerable groups: adolescents, women and low-income groups. The growing popularity of new tobacco products (electronic cigarettes or e-cigs) among young Mexicans is an increasing challenge. Our review reveals the need to implement all provisions of the WHO-FCTC in its full extent, and that laws and regulations will not be effective in decreasing the tobacco epidemic unless they are strictly enforced. PMID: 31276348 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Salud Publica de Mexico - Category: Epidemiology Authors: Tags: Salud Publica Mex Source Type: research