How Philip Morris International Used EU Trade Channels to Challenge Mexico’s Heated Tobacco Product Ban
June 09, 2026
Mexico leads the way for tobacco control progress in Latin America. Among its many accomplishments is a ban on heated tobacco products (HTPs) and e-cigarettes (vapes).
Through freedom of information requests, STOP researchers found that Philip Morris International (PMI) has been trying to undermine Mexico’s sovereignty by attempting to overturn the HTP ban. Documents show that in repeated interactions between PMI and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade, PMI framed Mexico’s HTP ban as a European trade issue and requested help to “ultimately lift the importation and commercialization prohibition.”
Learn more about PMI’s attempts to interfere in Mexico’s policies.
