MEXICO BANS VAPES, FUELING CARTEL CONTROL OVER BOOMING MARKET. (PHOTO).

Mexico bans vapes, fueling cartel control over booming market

  When a cartel targeted a vape shop in northern Mexico, the owners knew resistance was not an option. In early 2022, two employees were abducted, blindfolded, and forced to speak with the gang, which announced it was seizing control of the store. The business would only be allowed to sell online outside the state.

“They don’t ask; they tell you what’s about to happen,” one former owner, now living in the U.S., said on the condition of anonymity. At the time, vapes were legal in Mexico, a market valued at $1.5 billion. But after the country banned the sale of electronic cigarettes earlier this month, experts warn organized crime will now dominate the sector. “By banning it, you’re handing the market to non-state groups,” said Zara Snapp, director of the Mexico-based Ría Institute, citing the country’s high levels of corruption and cartel violence.

The prohibition is expected to provide cartels with a new revenue stream largely outside U.S. enforcement priorities, according to lawyer Alejandro Rosario, who represents multiple vape shops. Mexico joins at least seven other Latin American countries in banning e-cigarettes, while regulators worldwide push restrictions due to rising teen use. Former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a vocal critic of vaping, first imposed the ban, which was later solidified by a constitutional amendment in January 2025 under President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Initially, legal loopholes allowed vape imports from China and the U.S., and the products continued circulating in shops and online. Authorities carried out raids and seizures, including 130,000 e-cigarettes at the Lazaro Cardenas port in February. But a December law closed the loophole, criminalizing virtually all sales and distribution of vapes with fines and prison sentences of up to eight years. Shop owners like Aldo Martínez immediately ceased sales, despite vaping accounting for the majority of their income, citing fear of incarceration.

Uncertainty around the law has left consumers wary, as possession is not illegal, but limits on personal use remain vague. Lawyer Juan José Cirión Lee plans to challenge the regulations, calling them ambiguous and prone to exploitation by corrupt officials.

While the ban was being finalized, cartels expanded their control over northern states and major cities like Guadalajara and Mexico City. Some branded their products with stickers or stamps, similar to their approach with fentanyl. Rosario said many retailers were forced out of the market due to intimidation, while others sold products supplied directly by criminal groups. Cartels now operate as de facto suppliers, sometimes importing disposable vape shells from Asia to refill and resell, creating potential risks from adulterated products. Reports indicate the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and other criminal organizations, including the Sinaloa cartel, now dominate the black-market vape trade.

The ban took effect Jan. 16, with authorities immediately seizing over 50,000 devices in Mexico City. Officials framed the crackdown as protecting youth, but critics argue the law drives the market into cartel hands, exposing minors to unregulated and potentially dangerous products. Experiences abroad are mixed: Brazil banned vapes in 2009, but youth use persists, while in the U.S., stricter regulation has helped reduce adolescent vaping to a decade low. Experts note e-cigarettes are generally safer than traditional cigarettes, and Snapp calls Mexico’s ban a setback for harm reduction.

Many consumers are stockpiling supplies or relying on underground suppliers. A small entrepreneur near the northern border operates discreetly via phone orders and has avoided cartel attention by not selling disposable devices, but he expects organized crime will eventually control the entire market.