Merida businesses have stopped displaying images of cigarrette packs

Before the entry into force of the reform to the Tobacco Law, several establishments began to conceal the product.

A few days after the modification to the Tobacco Law comes into force, several businesses in Mérida that sell cigarettes no longer display them, while the leader of the small merchants warned that thousands of little stores will be harmed.

The reform that establishes the control, surveillance, promotion and sponsorship of this product will come into force next Sunday, January 15. However, since days convenience stores, stalls, newsstands and other places that offer cigars have stopped displaying them.

The law states that the display of cigarettes at points of sale, as well as their advertising, will be prohibited. In addition, measures are established to ensure that there is no smoking in workplaces, public transport, schools, venues for shows, hotels, stadiums, shopping malls, beaches, parks or places where there are children and adolescents.

Yesterday, in a tour carried out by Novedades Yucatán, it was observed that several businesses no longer display cigarettes. Some have kept them in boxes under the counter; others covered the shelf or covered the packs with other items, and there are even those who decided to leave it in their cellar and only have two packs of each variety on hand, but without having them in view of the customer.

In this regard, the president of the Chamber of Commerce in Small (Canacope) in the State, Jorge Cardeña Licona, warned that thousands of small shops and stalls will be harmed by the new provision of the Federal Government, as it will generate significant economic losses.

He specified that the new regulation that will be applied as of next Sunday, will harm more than 600,000 businesses nationwide, especially small businesses, since approximately 25 percent of their monthly income comes from the sale of these products. .

The leader considered that this measure should not be so drastic, but applied gradually. Although he respects the instances that are promoting these measures, he does not believe that with these changes people will stop smoking.

“If the smoker does not get legal cigarettes, he will look for the way and the place to obtain them, whether they are pirated or contraband,” said Cardeña Licona.