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When a drug cartel visits a northern store selling e-cigarettes Mexicothe owners knew there was nothing they could do.
The drug cartel kidnapped two employees, blindfolded them and demanded to speak to their boss. The cartel said it was sealing the store, which only allowed out-of-state online sales.
“They don’t come and ask you if you want to (give your business to them), they tell you what’s going to happen,” said one of the owners, 27, who lives in the house. USA”, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
That was in early 2022, when e-cigarettes were still legal in the $1.5 billion Mexican market. But earlier this month, the country banned the sale (though not use) of e-cigarettes. Experts believe organized crime will now consolidate its control over the sale of these devices.
In a country with high levels of corruption and violence linked to drug cartels, “by prohibiting, you cede the market to non-state groups,” said Zara Snapp, president of the Mexico-based Ria Institute, which studies drug policy in Latin America.
Alejandro Rosario, an attorney who represents many e-cigarette shops, said the ban could also strengthen the cartels by giving them another revenue stream, which is not a high priority for the U.S. government because e-cigarettes are still legal in the United States.
push for ban
E-cigarettes are legal and regulated in the United States and Europe, but are now banned in at least eight Latin American countries. Some countries, such as Japan, have used e-cigarettes to reduce tobacco use, but regulation has been tightening with government support. World Health Organizationwhich worries about the growth of teen use.
former president of mexico Andres Manuel Lopez ObradorOutspokenly criticize e-cigarettes and ban the import and sale of e-cigarettes.
When Mexico’s Supreme Court declared the ban unconstitutional, López Obrador pushed for a constitutional amendment that was passed in January 2025 under his successor, President Claudia Shinbaum. E-cigarettes are now juxtaposed with the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl, which many lawyers say is completely disproportionate.
However, the lack of laws to enforce the ban leaves loopholes and e-cigarettes continue to enter Mexico from major producers China and the United States. In December, e-cigarettes can still be sold in many stores and online.
Nonetheless, authorities conducted raids and seizures. In February last year, 130,000 e-cigarettes were seized at the port of Lazaro Cardenas.
Aldo Martinez, 39, mexico city The store owner, who was fined $38,000 for selling the equipment, contested the ruling and ultimately did not have to pay.
But in December, the legal loophole was closed. A new law bans virtually all vaping products except for consumption and carries fines and up to eight years in prison. Martinez immediately stopped selling e-cigarettes, even though they accounted for two-thirds of his income. “I don’t want to go to jail,” he said.
Martinez and his friends will consume the rest of his inventory, but he fears authorities might raid his store and grow e-cigarettes there in an attempt to extort him.
Consumers are also concerned that authorities may blackmail them because, while it is not illegal to own e-cigarettes, the new law is unclear as to how many devices can still be considered for personal use.
“If I make a vague law … I leave it open to corrupt authorities to interpret it in an extortionist way,” said Juan José Cirión Lee, a lawyer and president of Mexico and the World Vaping Organization. He plans to challenge the new rules in court, saying they are vague and full of contradictions.
cartel corner market
While Mexico was enacting the ban, organized crime expanded its share of the sector in northern states and the country’s largest cities, Guadalajara and Mexico City. Sometimes they even put stickers or stamps on their products to differentiate their brand, reminiscent of their stamped fentanyl pills.
Attorney Rosario spoke of intimidation, extortion and violence forcing sellers in states like Sonora to exit the industry. He said others, such as some of his former clients in Sinaloa, decided to sell e-cigarettes provided by the cartel, which promised they would not have any problems with authorities.
“I lost about 40 percent of my clients,” Rosario said.
The owner, who now lives in the United States, said he was relatively lucky because the cartel paid some money for the business and sought the owner’s expertise on how it was run.
He said the cartels already knew everything about them, including their addresses and names of relatives. He and his partners are now shutting down their online business because they don’t want to choose between a cartel and jail time under the new ban.
A long-time seller in Mexico City, who also requested anonymity to avoid retaliation, said some of his customers were intimidated by mobs for buying e-cigarettes online, while one of his suppliers sold his inventory to organized crime groups.
The cheapest and most popular devices—the ones that the cartels are most interested in—are disposable. Some countries have banned them due to plastic, electronic and chemical waste.
Rosario said the cartels have emerged as suppliers and formal businesses, with some even buying disposable casings directly from Asian manufacturers to fill themselves. This lack of regulation increases the likelihood of adulterated products being produced by organizations that already handle a variety of illicit drugs.
A recent report by Mexican NGO Defensorxs said the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is “committed to rebranding Asian e-cigarettes,” while other criminal organizations including the Sinaloa Cartel and smaller criminal groups in Mexico City and Acapulco operate on the e-cigarette black market.
Results are mixed
Mexico’s ban went into effect on January 16. The next day, authorities confiscated more than 50,000 e-cigarettes and displayed them in Mexico City’s central square. Mayor Clara Brugada believes enforcement is necessary to protect young people.
To lawyer Cirión Lee, this is ridiculous. Illegal products attract young people, he said, and now “those selling cocaine, fentanyl, marijuana are selling you e-cigarettes” and they don’t care if the buyer is a minor.
Experiences in other countries vary. Brazil banned e-cigarettes in 2009, but they are widely used by young people. However, in the United States, where e-cigarettes are not banned, teen e-cigarette use fell to its lowest level in a decade in 2024 as regulations tightened.
The FDA and most scientists agree that based on available evidence, e-cigarettes are far less dangerous than traditional cigarettes.
Drug policy researcher Snapp insists Mexico’s ban is a setback because it removes a safer alternative to cigarettes.
The man who lost business to cartels in 2022 said some consumers are demanding their trusted suppliers stay open. He said people have recently been “panic buying” months of supply due to uncertainty about the future.
A young entrepreneur near Mexico’s northern border says he is able to operate under the radar because he has neither a store nor a website. He said he did everything via phone calls and text messages, requesting anonymity for his safety.
So far, he said, the cartels have left him alone because he doesn’t sell disposable e-cigarettes, but he plans to be more careful. He predicts that sooner or later the entire market will fall into the hands of organized crime.
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