Mexico banned the sale of electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices on Tuesday due to concerns about their health effects, according to the government.

According to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, claiming that e-cigarettes are a safe alternative to inhaling tobacco smoke is a “lie.”

“The vapors are also harmful for health,” Lopez Obrador told reporters as he announced the signing of a presidential decree introducing the ban on World No Tobacco Day.

He showed a pink vaping device to illustrate how the products are intended to appeal to young people.

“Look at the color, the design,” Lopez Obrador said.

Mexico prohibited the import and export of vaping devices and cartridges in October, but the companies have continued to sell their inventory, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said.

The new ban covers “the circulation and marketing of these new products,” he added.

E-cigarettes heat up a cartridge of liquid typically containing nicotine and other chemicals into an aerosol. The user inhales the resulting vapor, mimicking traditional cigarettes.

Read more: Mexico enters the list of countries confirming first monkeypox case

Proponents of vaping say it is safer than traditional tobacco.

The World Health Organization considers electronic cigarettes to be harmful to health and has called for tight regulation to stop young people in particular from using them.

According to the WHO, more than 30 countries have banned the sale of electronic cigarettes.

Juul agreed to pay $22.5 million in April to settle a US lawsuit alleging that the company intentionally targeted teenagers and lied about how addictive its products are.

Read more:Tobacco kills millions of people, destroys millions of hectares annually: WHO

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