Will Mexico’s plan to constitutionally ban vapes play into the hands of cartels?

Mexico’s black market in vapes is estimated to be worth 5bn pesos a year. Photograph: Nicholas.T Ansell/PA

Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has confirmed that her government will seek to enshrine a ban on e-cigarettes and vapes in the country’s constitution by the end of the year.

Though the move is driven by public health concerns, it has prompted fears that it would only boost a thriving black market for vapes in the hands of powerful organised crime groups, such as the Sinaloa cartel and Jalisco New Generation cartel.