Legislators in Mexico vote to prohibit junk food sales for anyone under 18

On Monday, legislators in the Mexican state of Tabasco voted to prohibit the sale of sugary drinks and highly processed foods to anyone under 18, putting these foods into the same category as cigarettes and alcohol. This comes amid growing evidence that being overweight increases the risk of complications with an infection by Covid-19, The Washington Post reports. Tabasco’s vote came 12 days after the city of Oaxaca took similar action—new laws which took the food industry by surprise. In a country where 73 percent of Mexicans are overweight, with 34 percent morbidly obese, Tabasco legislator Manuel Gorillo Bonfil said the pandemic was a historic opportunity to establish policies that will protect the health of children. Researchers have found that during the pandemic, there has been a rise in junk food consumption across Latin America.