The Court refused to analyze protections promoted by the OXXO convenience store chain to continue displaying tobacco products; The appeals will have to be resolved in collegiate courts.
Mexico City, November 13 (However).– The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) refused this Thursday to analyze the legal resources that have allowed the stores Oxxo, a chain of the company Fomento Economico Mexicano (FEMSA), continue displaying packets of cigarettes and other products with nicotine.
Ministers Yasmín Esquivel Mossa, María Estela Ríos González, Loretta Ortiz Ahlf, Sara Irene Herrerías Guerra and Minister Giovanni Azael Figueroa Mejía voted against appealing the case. This block also voted a few weeks ago against analyzing the protections promoted by the chain 7-Eleven which, likewise, continues displaying cigars It happens that the Regulations of the General Law for the Control of Tobacco prohibit it.
“The two issues [el caso de las tiendas Oxxo 7-Eleven] They returned to a collegiate court in Monterrey for their substantive resolution. There is something that worries us: That such relevant issues are not resolved by the SCJN, especially because we believed that it was a very important opportunity to give the result that was being sought by having a new Court, specifically to find ministers who were concerned and dedicated to people’s health,” said Maximiliano Cárdenas, lawyer for the Salud Justa Mx organization, in an interview for the news program. Two with Everything from SinEmbargo Al Aire.
In January 2023, the Regulations of the General Law for Tobacco Control came into force, prohibiting the advertising, promotion and sponsorship of tobacco and products that encourage consumption, in addition to the display of packs on shelves at points of sale.
It also prevents smoking in public spaces such as workplaces or places of collective attendance, offices, schools, restaurants, stadiums, beaches, parks, public transportation and entertainment centers.
Tobacco companies in the restaurant, hotel and retail sector have presented more than 1,700 protections since then, according to monitoring carried out by Salud Justa MX.
Cases such as those of OXXO and 7-Eleven remain pending a definitive resolution. Although these matters were already resolved in the first instance, Maximiliano Cárdenas explained that the importance of the SCJN attracting these cases is that they are representative due to the large number of stores they have nationwide.
And although collegiate courts have already voted in favor of companies respecting the regulations, the lawyer explained that the 49 final rulings issued so far (25 in favor of the regulations and 24 against) show a situation of “coin to the air”, which is why he highlighted the need for the Court to issue criteria that serve to guide the Judiciary and protect the right to health, not the economic interests of companies.
“Yes, there are other opportunities to request the SCJN for the power of attraction, but for months we had identified that the case of OXXO and 7-Eleven were the most representative due to the number of stores that are throughout the country. We consider that this characteristic provided an illustration of the importance of the Court knowing this matter and determining once and for all whether the regulation is constitutional or not.”
Ministers of the @SCJNgirls and boys mistake the cigarettes displayed at OXXO for sweets.
This is how the tobacco industry normalizes consumption from childhood.
We need your help!#HealthAlsoIsJustice@HugoAguilarOrti@LeniaBatres… pic.twitter.com/NZ6WCeoiWV
— Salud Justa Mx (@SaludJustaMx) November 13, 2025
“There are already very favorable and very interesting resolutions at the collegiate court levels, but it was important for the Court to dictate criteria that would determine that the regulation is constitutional,” said lawyer Cárdenas.
The display of tobacco products at points of sale is a form of advertising that the tobacco industry uses to attract new consumers, such as girls, boys and young people, in addition to being prohibited by article 13 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control of the World Health Organization, an instrument that Mexico has ratified.
Thanks to the protections they have won, convenience stores not only display packs of cigarettes, but also products such as nicotine bags, which use bright colors and are placed near candy or cookies, making them attractive to children and adolescents.
“The prohibition of exhibition and all forms of advertising or sponsorship is very important. Above all so that people are not influenced to consume. In fact, we see with new products how campaigns are broadcast on social networks, which are spaces where there is no greater reach or intervention from the authority, to position heated tobacco products or innovative products such as nicotine bags that are displayed in stores and stores near candy and what they seek is to position this new product for people’s consumption,” highlighted the lawyer. from the Salud Justa MX organization.
Tobacco consumption is related to the annual death of 63 thousand Mexican men and women, according to data released by the federal government. While it is estimated that it is responsible for around 8 million deaths a year in the world.