MEXICO CITY — Drug Cartel Control Over E-Cigarette Market
When drug cartels targeted e-cigarette shops in northern Mexico, the business owners felt utterly powerless.
Two employees were abducted, blindfolded, and forced to communicate with their boss. The cartel declared they were taking control of stores that exclusively offered online sales outside the state.
“They don’t ask if we want to give it to them. They just dictate what is going to happen,” shared one owner, now living in the U.S., who preferred to stay anonymous for fear of repercussions.
Back in early 2022, e-cigarettes were still legal in Mexico, a market valued at $1.5 billion. Recently, however, the country prohibited their sale, although they can still be used. Experts suggest that organized crime will further tighten its hold on sales of these devices.
Zara Snapp, director of the Lear Institute in Mexico, noted that in a nation rife with cartel-related corruption and violence, “banning drugs essentially hands the market over to non-state groups.”
Since e-cigarettes remain legal for personal use, this ban could inadvertently strengthen cartels by creating a new, low-priority income stream that attracts less scrutiny from the U.S. government, according to Alejandro Rosario, a lawyer with many vape shop clients.
Push and Ban
While e-cigarettes are legal in the U.S. and Europe, at least eight Latin American countries have enacted bans. Countries like Japan are using e-cigarettes to curb tobacco use, yet regulations are tightening, backed by the World Health Organization, due to concerns about rising usage among teens.
Former Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador was a vocal opponent of e-cigarettes, banning their import and sale.
Following a Supreme Court ruling that declared the ban unconstitutional, López Obrador pursued a constitutional amendment, which was approved in January 2025 under his successor, Claudia Sheinbaum. E-cigarettes are now categorized alongside potent substances like fentanyl, a classification some lawyers deem greatly exaggerated.
However, insufficient enforcement of this ban led to loopholes, allowing e-cigarettes to continue entering Mexico from major suppliers such as China and the U.S. Many stores and online retailers were still selling e-cigarettes in December.
Despite this, authorities conducted raids and confiscations. In February, a significant seizure of 130,000 e-cigarettes occurred at a port.
Aldo Martinez, a store owner in Mexico City, was fined $38,000 for selling e-cigarettes but managed to fight the charge and avoid payment.
By December, the loophole had been closed. The new law effectively bans nearly all aspects of e-cigarettes, aside from their use, imposing fines and potential prison sentences of up to eight years. Martinez quickly ceased selling e-cigarettes, noting that they had accounted for two-thirds of his income. “I don’t want to go to jail,” he remarked.
Martinez and his friends ended up consuming his remaining stock, but he worries about the possibility of authorities raiding his store and planting e-cigarettes as a means of extortion.
Consumers are also anxious. While possession isn’t illegal, the law’s ambiguity may lead authorities to act against them, as it’s unclear how many devices can be considered personal use.
“If I create vague laws…I allow corrupt officials to interpret them in ways that could lead to blackmail,” warned Juan José Sirion Lee, a lawyer and head of the group Mexico and World Vaping. He intends to challenge the new regulations in court for their obscurity and contradictions.
Cartel Market Expansion
In response to Mexico’s prohibition, organized crime has expanded its influence over the sector in northern states and major cities like Guadalajara and Mexico City. Some products even bore labels reminiscent of fentanyl pills to distinguish brands.
Rosario discussed the threats, extortion, and violence that caused distributors in areas like Sonora to shutter their businesses. Others, including some of his former clients in Sinaloa, opted to sell e-cigarettes supplied by the cartel, which assured them there would be no trouble from authorities.
“I’ve lost about 40% of my customers,” Rosario lamented.
The store owner, now residing in the U.S., revealed he was somewhat fortunate since the cartel compensated him for his business and sought his expertise.
He noted that the cartel was already privy to extensive details about the owners, including their addresses and relatives’ names. He and his co-owners are shutting down their online operations to avoid choosing between cartel dealings and prison sentences due to the new ban.
A long-time seller in Mexico City, who also requested anonymity, recounted how some customers had been threatened for purchasing e-cigarettes online, and one supplier had sold inventory to organized crime.
The prevalent and easily obtainable devices—disposable e-cigarettes—have attracted the cartels’ interest. Several countries have prohibited them due to issues related to waste.
According to Rosario, the cartels now position themselves as legitimate suppliers, acquiring disposable shells directly from Asian manufacturers to fill. This lack of regulation raises the risk of contaminated products from organizations already engaged in the illegal drug trade.
A recent report from the Mexican NGO Defensorx indicated that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel has established a “specialized business in repackaging e-cigarettes in Asia,” along with the Sinaloa Cartel and smaller criminal entities in Mexico City and Acapulco operating in the e-cigarette black market.
Mixed Outcomes
The ban took effect on January 16. The following day, authorities seized over 50,000 e-cigarettes, displaying them in a central square of Mexico City. Mayor Clara Brugada argued that the crackdown is crucial for youth protection.
For lawyer Sirion Lee, that reasoning is laughable. Prohibited items tend to attract young consumers, and now “dealers of cocaine, fentanyl, and marijuana are selling e-cigarettes,” with little regard for the buyers’ age.
Experiences in different countries vary. Brazil implemented an e-cigarette ban in 2009, yet their use among youth remains high. Conversely, in the U.S., where e-cigarettes aren’t banned, stricter regulations have contributed to a drop in youth usage to a ten-year low in 2024.
Most experts, including those from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, agree that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful than traditional cigarettes, based on current evidence.
Snapp argues that Mexico’s ban is a regression, removing safer options for smokers.
A man who lost his business to a cartel in 2022 mentioned that consumers are reaching out to trusted suppliers to keep their operations running. Reports of “panic buying” have surfaced as people scramble for months’ worth of supplies amid uncertainty.
A young entrepreneur near Mexico’s northern border shared that he operates discreetly without a storefront or website, conducting business through phone calls and messages. He claimed that the cartel has yet to interfere, as he does not sell disposable e-cigarettes, but he plans to proceed cautiously moving forward. He fears that, eventually, the entire market may succumb to organized crime.
