The Union collaborated with Union grantee, the National Council Against Addictions, to provide technical assistance to the government of Mexico and support the decision to update tobacco excise tax each year based on the inflation rate.
The Union congratulates Mexico for the decision to increase tobacco excise tax in line with the national inflation rate. This measure was approved by the Mexican Parliament in October and was included in the Economic Package proposal for the year 2020. Tobacco tax will be reviewed each year and adjusted according to the inflation rate.
Increasing tobacco tax to ensure that tobacco products become increasingly unaffordable is one of the most effective policies for reducing tobacco use set out in the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
The Union collaborated with Union grantee, the National Council Against Addictions (CONADIC), to provide technical assistance to the government of Mexico and support the decision to update tobacco excise tax each year based on the inflation rate.
“The Union welcomes this decision as a positive sign that the Mexican government is committed to strengthening tobacco control in the country,” said Dr Gustavo Sóñora, Regional Director of The Union Latin America.
“However, tax on tobacco products in Mexico is still too low. The Union urges Mexico to consider further increasing tobacco tax, one of the most effective policies of the WHO FCTC, to encourage smokers to quit and to make smoking unaffordable for young people.”
The Union has provided technical assistance to further tobacco control policies in Mexico since 2006, and helped establish the first ever smokefree beach in the country; beach San Martin in Cozumel. The Union has supported partners to strengthen the enforcement and evaluation of tobacco policy, and to present scientific evidence for tobacco control subnationally in each of Mexico’s 32 provinces.
Tobacco control efforts in Mexico have shown positive results, with the national smoking rate declining from 28 percent in 1990 to 16 percent in 2017. However, with over 16 million Mexican people still using tobacco in 2017, The Union will continue to provide support to partners and the government of Mexico to further implement the policies set out in the WHO FCTC, to reduce the preventable diseases and early death caused by tobacco.