Mexico Federal District goes 100% smoke-free
Mexico Distrito Federal (Mexico City or Mexico DF), with a population of nearly 9 million, passed a comprehensive smoke-free law in February 2008. This law prohibits smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces, including public transport, restaurants and bars. Specifically, the law does not allow for designated smoking areas.
Prior to passage of the law, nearly 40% of adult males and 17% of adult females reported current tobacco use, substantially higher than smoking rates in the rest of the country. Although limited smoke-free protections were in force prior to February 2008, they were nearly universally ignored.
Mexico DF’s head of government and legislative assembly, along with support from tobacco control advocates, ensured that the 2008 smokefree law protected all Mexico DF citizens from second-hand tobacco smoke. Working together, the Mexico DF government and tobacco control advocates secured strong support and active participation during all stages of the political process, enlisted civil society partners to coordinate actions in support of smoke-free laws, employed a highprofile media strategy that effectively engaged political and civil society advocates, and secured financial resources to implement promotional campaigns and research studies to support, inform and raise awareness of smoke-free agendas.
Public support for the law, which was extremely strong in the period leading up to enactment, solidified even further after smoke-free regulations came into force. More than 90% of Mexico DF residents now support restrictions in workplaces, restaurants and hotels, and more than 70% support the smoking ban in bars. The proportion of people reporting any exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke within the past month decreased from 80% to slightly over half, and daily exposure dropped from 28% to 12%. As smoke-free places have become firmly established, 98% of people polled agree that second-hand tobacco smoke is dangerous, 97% believe that the law benefits their health, and 98% concur that people have a right to breathe clean air. By joining other large subnational jurisdictions that have become smoke-free, Mexico DF serves as a catalyst for similar action throughout Latin America and around the world.
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