Laws

General Law on Tobacco Control (Ley General para el Control del Tabaco)

COMMENTS: The General Law on Tobacco Control (August 28, 2008) is an omnibus law covering restrictions on public smoking; tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship; tobacco products packaging and labeling; and sanctions, among other things.

Regulation of the General Law on Tobacco Control (as amended) (Reglamento de la Ley General para el Control del Tabaco)

COMMENTS: The Regulation of the General Law on Tobacco Control (June 30, 2009) regulates the General Law on Tobacco Control and covers many aspects of tobacco control, including, but not limited to, establishing enforcement authorities and sanctions, restrictions on public smoking, and tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

The Original Language file contains amendments through October 9, 2012. The English translation does not contain these amendments.

Ministry of Health Agreement on Health Messages and Information to Appear on Packaging and Labeling

24 Sep, 2010

COMMENTS: This Agreement, dated December 24, 2009, establishes the parameters of health warnings, including their content, size, and locations on tobacco product packages and external packaging and labeling. These provisions resulted from an agreement between the Ministry of Health and the tobacco industry, and became binding once the Agreement went into effect (nine months from publication in the Official Gazette). The warnings in this Agreement were in effect from September 24, 2010 through September 23, 2011.

Ministry of Health Agreement Amending the Health Messages and Information to Appear on Packaging and Labeling Starting on September 14, 2011

24 Sep, 2011

COMMENTS: This Agreement, dated May 9, 2011, amends the previous agreement published in the Diario Oficial on December 24, 2010. The primary amendment was an updated set of pictorial warnings to be displayed on smoked tobacco product packages. The text warnings that must appear on smokeless tobacco products remain largely unchanged. The warnings in this Agreement were in effect from September 24, 2011 through September 23, 2012.

Ministry of Health Agreement on Health Messages and Information to Appear on Packaging and Labeling Starting on September 14, 2012

24 Sep, 2012

COMMENTS: This Agreement, dated July 23, 2012, establishes a new set of pictorial health warnings to be displayed on smoked tobacco product packages. The text warnings that must appear on smokeless tobacco products remain unchanged. The warnings in this Agreement were in effect from September 24, 2012 through March 23, 2013.

Clarification of Ministry of Health Agreement on Health Messages and Information to Appear on Packaging and Labeling Starting on March 24, 2013

22 Mar, 2013

COMMENTS: This order clarifies information in the Ministry of Health Agreement on Health Messages and Information to Appear on Packaging and Labeling, starting on March 24, 2013.

Ministry of Health Agreement on Health Messages and Information to Appear on Packaging and Labeling Starting on March 24, 2013

24 Mar, 2013

COMMENTS: This Agreement, dated November 30, 2012, establishes a new set of health warnings to be displayed on both smoked and smokeless tobacco product packages. The warnings in this Agreement were in effect from March 24, 2013 through September 23, 2013.

Ministry of Health Agreement on Health Messages and Information to Appear on Packaging and Labeling Starting on March 24, 2014

24 Mar, 2014

COMMENTS: This Agreement, dated January 3, 2014, establishes a new set of health warnings to be displayed on both smoked and smokeless tobacco product packages. The warnings in this Agreement were in effect from March 24, 2014 through September 23, 2014.

Ministry of Health Agreement on Health Messages and Information to Appear on Packaging and Labeling Starting on September 24, 2014

24 Sep, 2014

COMMENTS: This Agreement, dated August 18, 2014, establishes a new set of health warnings to be displayed on both smoked and smokeless tobacco product packages. The warnings in this Agreement were in effect from September 24, 2014 to March 23, 2015.

Ministry of Health Agreement on Health Messages and Information to Appear on Packaging and Labeling Starting from March 24, 2015 to March 23, 2016

24 Mar, 2015

COMMENTS: This Agreement, dated March 2, 2015, establishes a new set of health warnings to be displayed on both smoked and smokeless tobacco product packages. The warnings in this Agreement were in effect from March 24, 2015 to March 23, 2016.

Ministry of Health Agreement on Health Messages and Information to Appear on Packaging and Labeling from March 24, 2016 to November 30, 2017

24 Mar, 2016

COMMENTS: This Agreement, dated March 23, 2016, establishes a new set of health warnings to be displayed on both smoked and smokeless tobacco product packages. The warnings in this Agreement were in effect from March 24, 2016 to November 30, 2017.

Ministry of Health Agreement on Health Messages and Information to Appear on Packaging and Labeling from December 1, 2017 to May 31, 2020

01 Dec, 2017

COMMENTS: This Agreement, dated November 17, 2017, establishes a new set of health warnings to be displayed on both smoked and smokeless tobacco product packages. The warnings in this Agreement were in effect from December 1, 2017 to May 31, 2020.

Ministry of Health Agreement Amending the Agreement on Health Messages and Information to Appear on Packaging and Labeling from December 1, 2017 to May 31, 2020

30 Oct, 2018

COMMENTS: This Agreement, dated October 19, 2018, amends the previous Agreement establishing health warnings to appear on tobacco product packages from December 1, 2017 to May 31, 2020. Specifically, this Agreement clarifies which warnings were to appear on packages during the time period from June 1, 2019 through May 31, 2020.

Decree Amending the Tariff of the Law on General Taxes on Imports and Exports (published on February 19, 2020)

20 Feb, 2020

COMMENTS: The Decree Amending the Tariff of the Law on General Taxes on Imports and Exports (published on February 19, 2020) introduces a new tariff classification under which the importation of e-cigarettes (electronic nicotine delivery systems, or ENDS), electronic non-nicotine delivery systems (ENNDS), and heated tobacco products is prohibited.

A subsequent decree published on July 16, 2021 removed heated tobacco products from this classification. However, heated tobacco products were reinserted by a decree published on October 22, 2021.

Ministry of Health Agreement on Health Messages and Information to Appear on Packaging and Labeling from June 1, 2020 to November 30, 2021

01 Jun, 2020

COMMENTS: This Agreement, dated April 29, 2020, establishes a new set of health warnings to be displayed on both smoked and smokeless tobacco product packages. The warnings in this Agreement were in effect from June 1, 2020 to November 30, 2021.

Decree Amending the Tariff of the Law on General Taxes on Imports and Exports (published on July 16, 2021)

17 Jul, 2021

COMMENTS: The Decree Amending the Tariff of the Law on General Taxes on Imports and Exports (published on July 16, 2021) further amended tariff classifications introduced by the decree published on February 19, 2020 by removing heated tobacco products from Item 8543.70.18. However, heated tobacco products were subsequently reinserted by a decree published on October 22, 2021.

Decree Amending the Tariff of the Law on General Taxes on Imports and Exports (published on October 22, 2021)

23 Oct, 2021

COMMENTS: The Decree Amending the Tariff of the Law on General Taxes on Imports and Exports (published on October 22, 2021) further amends tariff classifications introduced by the decree published on February 19, 2020 and amended by the decree published on July 16, 2021. This latest amendment reintroduces the ban on the import of heated tobacco products.

Ministry of Health Agreement on Health Messages and Information to Appear on Packaging and Labeling from December 1, 2021 to February 28, 2023

01 Dec, 2021

COMMENTS: This Agreement, dated September 6, 2021, establishes a new set of health warnings to be displayed on both smoked and smokeless tobacco product packages from December 1, 2021 to February 28, 2023.

Decree Amending the General Law on Tobacco Control (published on February 17, 2022)

18 Feb, 2022

COMMENTS: This Decree Amending the General Law on Tobacco Control, published on February 17, 2022, establishes a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship. It also prohibits smoking, including the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, in indoor public places, workplaces, and public transport.

Decree Prohibiting the Circulation and Commercialization of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems, Electronic Non-Nicotine Delivery Systems, Alternative Nicotine Delivery Systems, Electronic Cigarettes, and Vaporizer Devices with Similar Uses, as well as the Solutions and Mixtures Used in Such Systems

COMMENTS: This Decree bans the circulation and commercialization of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), electronic non-nicotine delivery systems (ENNDS), Alternative Nicotine Delivery Systems (HTPs), e-cigarettes, and vaping devices with similar uses, as well as the solutions and mixtures used in such systems.

Decree Issuing the Law on General Taxes on Imports and Exports

07 Jun, 2022

COMMENTS: This Decree amends the Law on General Taxes on Imports and Exports, confirming the ban on heated tobacco products and e-cigarettes.

Decree Amending, Adding, and Repealing Several Provisions of the Regulation of the General Law on Tobacco Control

COMMENTS: The Decree Amending, Adding, and Repealing Several Provisions of the Regulation of the General Law on Tobacco Control includes amendments to several definitions and implementing details around smoke-free environments and the ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, including a ban on product display at points of sale.

To the best of our knowledge, all laws provided here are in effect as of January 23, 2023 unless otherwise noted.