Mexico goes one step further in its fight against electronic cigarettes. National investigators have found 33 substances within the so-called vapers, of which only three are reported in the packages, as reported on Tuesday by Alejandro Svarch, head of the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) at the president’s morning conference. The national laboratory has made visible, through its own methodology, harmful elements such as dimethyl ether, a highly flammable substance; benzyl alcohol, used in soaps, creams or cleaning products; and ethio propionate, a component that causes the bad smell in sweat.
The country began six months ago to educate the population to end the use of this product. The head of Cofepris has announced that the Government has confiscated more than 72,000 electronic cigarettes since May, in which the President of the Executive, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, signed a decree to prohibit their commercialization. Cofepris and the Ministry of the Interior presented a maximum health alert that month, due to the detection of toxic substances that could create “respiratory diseases and even death.”
Svarch has indicated that the only objective of the tobacco companies is to “sell cigarettes”, without taking into account the associated costs, such as health conditions. The head of Cofepris has assured that vapers are “unique of their kind” because they cause illness and even death when used in the manner intended by the manufacturer. “[Los cigarros electronicos] they were created with the excuse that they are useful to end tobacco addiction and, however, they are intended to create more addiction among young people”, Svarch has pointed out.
Lopez Obrador has affirmed that Mexico is one of the few countries in which a study on vapers has been carried out. “There are many interests. It is a deception that it is exposed that it has three substances that do no harm and it turns out that there are 33”, added the Mexican president. The leader of the Administration has indicated that these companies “spend a lot on advertising” and has added that manufacturers have lobbyists capable of bribery. In a presentation screened during the conference, it has been shown that in 2020, companies spent 164 billion pesos ($8.19 billion) on advertising.
Svarch has ensured that manufacturers only report three substances on packaging: glycerin, propylene glycol and flavorings. “This is a deception to the customer, who believes that it is less harmful because it only has flavorings and nicotine, although in reality it has more,” said the head of Cofepris. Among other elements that make up the electronic cigarette, Svarch has highlighted linalool, “used to kill cockroaches.”
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