,

We filed a complaint against the AFA and Vaporesso for illegal electronic cigarette advertising

We filed an administrative complaint before Argentina’s Ministry of Health against the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and Vaporesso over the “Move Beyond Ordinary” campaign, launched in March 2026 during the FIFA World Cup. The campaign uses the images of Messi, Julián Álvarez, and Enzo Fernández to promote products that are harmful to health, particularly for adolescents and young people. Advertising and brand sponsorship of these products are prohibited in Argentina.

On March 18, 2026, Vaporesso, a global manufacturer of electronic nicotine delivery devices, and the AFA publicly announced a “strategic partnership” in connection with the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The campaign, titled “Move Beyond Ordinary,” included social media posts, a video featuring images of the Argentine National Team, giveaways of jerseys and World Cup tickets, and the inclusion of the Vaporesso logo on the AFA’s official website as a regional sponsor.

Following criticism from public health experts and civil society organizations, the AFA removed the logo from its website and deleted its social media posts. However, Vaporesso’s campaign remains active on its own digital channels, with unrestricted access from Argentina.

Why it is illegal

Argentina’s National Tobacco Control Law (Law No. 26,687) expressly prohibits the advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of tobacco and nicotine products — including electronic cigarettes — in any media outlet, digital platform, or public event. This prohibition remains fully in force under the new Ministry of Health regulation (Resolution 549/2026): authorizing commercialization does not lift restrictions on advertising and sponsorship.

The complaint is based on four arguments. First, the campaign violates Articles 5 and 8 of Law 26,687, which prohibit brand sponsorship and any form of direct or indirect advertising or promotion of tobacco and nicotine products through any medium accessible in Argentina. Second, the campaign began on March 18, 2026, when ANMAT Provision 3226/2011 was fully in force and categorically prohibited electronic cigarette advertising: the subsequent repeal does not extinguish liability for violations already committed. Third, using sports idols and the symbols of the World Cup-winning National Team to promote harmful products constitutes an abusive and misleading practice that violates the Consumer Protection Law (Law 24,240). Fourth, the campaign contravenes international treaties with constitutional hierarchy — including the Convention on the Rights of the Child — which require the State to protect the health and best interests of children and adolescents against strategies aimed at normalizing the consumption of addictive and harmful products.

“Having a vaping brand sponsor the Argentine National Team and use Messi’s image to sell products to adolescents is illegal. It is also a very clear example of what we have been denouncing for years: the industry systematically violates the law while the State fails to monitor or sanction it. Since Law 26,687 was enacted, the State has not imposed a single sanction for noncompliance. This leads us to the question the Ministry of Health has yet to answer: if they were unable to enforce a simple prohibition for fifteen years, how are they going to enforce the rules now that they have authorized the sale of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products?” said Laura Fons, attorney in Fundeps’ Health Area.

What we demand

With the support of different civil society organizations and professional associations, we are asking the Ministry of Health to order the immediate suspension of the campaign and the removal of all related content from social media, websites, and digital platforms; to terminate the commercial agreement between the AFA and Vaporesso on the grounds that it is manifestly illegal; to impose the corresponding sanctions on both entities for violations of Law 26,687 and related regulations; and to adopt preventive and non-repetition measures to prevent future sponsorship campaigns for tobacco and nicotine products.

The risk for children and adolescents

According to a 2025 study by SEDRONAR, 35.5% of high school students have already tried electronic cigarettes. A single liquid pod may contain nicotine equivalent to an entire pack of cigarettes. Nicotine exposure during developmental stages alters brain maturation, affects attention and impulse control, and creates persistent addiction.

Campaigns like “Move Beyond Ordinary” are not accidental: the tobacco industry studies how to maximize reward responses in the adolescent brain. Associating vapes with sports icons turns a harmful product into a symbol of success and belonging. That is exactly what the law prohibits.

Tobacco and nicotine advertising circulates widely on social media, often in subtle and covert ways. For this reason, Fundeps launched a collective monitoring campaign that encourages people to detect, document, and report illegal advertising on social media and digital platforms. The goal is to gather evidence that helps expose these practices and strengthen the enforceability of regulations protecting the right to health.

Contact

Maga Merlo Vijarra — magamerlov@fundeps.org

,

Setback for Public Health: Argentina Authorizes the Commercialization of Electronic Cigarettes and Heated Tobacco Products

The authorization of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products for commercial sale, established by Ministry of Health Resolution No. 549/2026 and ANMAT Provision No. 2543/2026, represents a setback in Argentina’s national tobacco control policy. Civil society organizations warn about the impacts on public health and demand full enforcement of National Tobacco Control Law No. 26,687, along with effective oversight.

On May 4, 2026, the Official Gazette published Ministry of Health Resolution No. 549/2026 and ANMAT Provision No. 2543/2026, which repeal the bans on the importation, commercialization, distribution, advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products that had been in force since 2011 and 2023, respectively. In addition, these regulations establish a framework for the regulated commercialization of these products and nicotine pouches. As a result, products with proven harmful effects on human health and high addictive potential—especially for children and adolescents—will now enter the market.

Context: Where We Come From and Where We Are Heading

Tobacco control policy in Argentina has a long history of coordinated efforts among the public sector, international organizations, health professionals, and civil society. National Tobacco Control Law No. 26,687, enacted in 2011, marked a milestone in public health protection: it established smoke-free environments, banned tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship, required health warnings on packaging, and restricted sales to minors. That same year, ANMAT prohibited the commercialization of electronic cigarettes, and in 2023 the Ministry of Health extended the ban to heated tobacco products (HTPs).

These measures were not arbitrary. They were based on the precautionary principle—a cornerstone of international health law—in light of evidence showing that none of these products are harmless, that nicotine causes severe addiction, and that the tobacco industry has historically demonstrated its ability to design strategies aimed at attracting young consumers.

Resolution No. 549/2026 itself acknowledges in its recitals that the use of vapes and electronic cigarettes reaches 35.5% of secondary school students, according to a 2025 SEDRONAR study. Rather than using this alarming figure to strengthen protective policies, the government uses it to justify opening the market under the argument that prohibitions were ineffective. That generalized claim is, at the very least, partially false and deeply concerning regarding the direction of public policy.

While enforcement of the electronic cigarette ban was indeed deficient, this was largely due to the State’s evident inability to ensure effective oversight. Moreover, unlike electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products had barely entered the Argentine market and now will be allowed to do so. What failed was not the law itself, but State enforcement. If authorities could not enforce the previous bans, how will they regulate a much broader market now?

What Changes Under the New Regulations

Resolution No. 549/2026 repeals the ban on heated tobacco products and creates the Tobacco and Nicotine Products Registry (RPTN), under which electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco devices, and nicotine pouches may now be imported and commercialized in Argentina, subject to registration requirements. ANMAT Provision No. 2543/2026, in turn, repeals the electronic cigarette ban that had been in force since 2011.

The new regulations expressly state that advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of these products remain prohibited under Law 26,687, and they establish specific technical restrictions for the regulated products. However, moving from a prohibition model based on the precautionary principle to a regulated commercialization model—at a time of rising adolescent consumption and uncertain enforcement capacity—constitutes a high-risk public health gamble and a clear setback in the protection of children and adolescents.

Nicotine pouches deserve special attention. Although they had not been explicitly banned like electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products, they were considered covered by the general framework of Law 26,687. Nevertheless, by late 2025 these products had entered the Argentine market massively, being sold without complying with the packaging and warning requirements established by national law and using prohibited marketing strategies. The new resolution explicitly regulates them and clarifies that they are tobacco products—or equivalent products—fully covered by existing legislation. In doing so, the government implicitly recognizes that these products had been commercialized unlawfully while the State failed to intervene.

Weak and Contradictory Justifications

The recitals of Resolution No. 549/2026 build their justification around four interconnected arguments: that the precautionary principle cannot be absolute or permanent; that countries considered international references have incorporated these products into their epidemiological surveillance systems; and that increasing consumption rates reported by SEDRONAR, together with the existence of an informal market, require regulation. None of these arguments supports the conclusion reached by the resolution.

  • It is true that the precautionary principle is not absolute and that measures adopted under it must be periodically reviewed. However, the resolution fails to explain either the orientation or the grounds for this review. The precautionary principle establishes that when there is a well-founded suspicion of serious harm to health, the absence of absolute scientific certainty cannot be used to postpone protective measures. Resolution No. 549/2026 reverses this logic: it argues that because prohibition failed to eliminate the informal market, regulated commercialization should be authorized. Yet the evidence accumulated since 2011 does not show these products to be safe. On the contrary, it shows that they are harmful and addictive, that they encourage youth initiation, and that dual use with conventional cigarettes increases exposure to toxic substances and health risks. A review grounded in that evidence should strengthen protections, not dismantle them.
  • The resolution also argues that some leading countries incorporated questions about the use of these products into their epidemiological surveys, supposedly allowing them to better measure the problem. But this argument confuses two very different things: monitoring a phenomenon does not mean authorizing it. Epidemiological surveillance is compatible with any regulatory framework, including prohibition. The fact that a country measures consumption does not mean it has legalized the product or recommends doing so.
  • The SEDRONAR finding—35.5% electronic cigarette use among secondary school students—is invoked to justify market liberalization. This interpretation turns public health logic upside down. High adolescent consumption of an addictive and harmful product is, under the right to health and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, an argument for strengthening restrictions, not normalizing use.
  • The informal market argument deserves special attention. The claim that prohibition fuels illegal, unregulated sales channels is one of the tobacco industry’s most common strategies for pushing regulatory rollback worldwide. This narrative appears repeatedly whenever tobacco control standards are challenged, appealing to the supposed dangers of informal products and the State’s alleged inability to sustain prohibition. The existence of an informal market is real. What is false is the assumption that legalization is the only solution. Argentina’s problem is not flawed legislation, but weak enforcement capacity—and that issue cannot be solved by opening the market, but by investing in oversight and enforcement.

Lack of Transparency, Participation, and Well-Founded Distrust

ANMAT Provision No. 2543/2026 partially bases its decision on Complementary Act No. 1 and on a Technical Report from the National Tobacco Control Program, both identified only by internal file numbers. Although cited as supporting documents, neither was incorporated into the administrative file nor published in the Official Gazette. Their conclusions are referenced selectively and superficially in the recitals, while the full technical evidence, arguments, and data allegedly supporting this regulatory shift remain inaccessible to the public. Administrative acts that affect rights must be self-sufficient: their grounds must be fully stated within the act itself so that any person may understand, assess, and potentially challenge the reasons behind the decision.

Beyond the lack of transparency regarding the evidence used, it is also important to highlight the absence of participation and consultation processes involving specialized organizations and health professionals, unlike the process that led to the regulations now being repealed.

The resolution also invokes the need for monitoring, oversight, and specific studies as part of its justification. But this promise clashes with a documented reality: since the enactment of Law 26,687, the State has neither imposed sanctions for violations of tobacco control regulations nor generated systematic epidemiological evidence to assess its own policies. The latest National Risk Factor Survey dates back to 2018. Argentina’s Global Youth Tobacco Survey also contains data only up to that year. The only recent data available comes from SEDRONAR 2025, which measures substance use among secondary school students but is not a specific tobacco surveillance instrument. If the State failed for fifteen years to generate updated evidence or effectively enforce existing prohibitions, there is no reason to believe it will now succeed under a more complex regulatory framework involving more products, more actors, and more technical variables to control—especially without additional resources allocated to that task. The central question left unanswered by the resolution is this: if the State could not enforce the prohibitions already in place, what concrete capacity does it now have to implement a far more complex regulatory regime?

Improving Policy Cannot Mean Moving Backwards

At Fundeps, we recognize that tobacco control regulations can and should be improved, and we actively work toward strengthening them. But in a context where the tobacco epidemic is increasingly affecting children and adolescents, strengthening public policy means closing enforcement gaps, updating epidemiological evidence, and ensuring effective compliance with existing restrictions. It does not mean opening markets for addictive products under the promise of regulation that the State has not demonstrated the capacity to enforce. The new regulations expose children and adolescents to the proliferation of these products in stores, kiosks, public spaces, and digital environments.

We emphasize that Law No. 26,687—and therefore the protections regarding smoke-free environments and bans on advertising, promotion, and sponsorship—remains fully in force and applies entirely to these new products. We demand full compliance with the law, effective enforcement supported by specific resources, and the complete publication of the technical documents underlying these recent measures.

At Fundeps, we will continue monitoring the implementation of the new regulatory framework, documenting violations, filing complaints before the relevant authorities, and coordinating with civil society, academic, and public health organizations to uphold evidence-based tobacco control policies free from conflicts of interest and grounded in the right to health.

Author: María Laura Fons

Contact: Maga Merlo – magamerlov@fundeps.org

,

Collective Monitoring: Detect, Record, and Report Illegal Tobacco and Nicotine Advertising on Social Media

Together with Proyecto Squatters, we launched a collective monitoring campaign to identify and expose illegal advertising of tobacco and nicotine products in digital environments. The initiative aims to gather evidence to demand compliance with current regulations and protect the health of children and adolescents.

On social media, tobacco, and nicotine advertising is widespread, often in subtle and disguised forms. This includes traditional and electronic cigarettes, nicotine pouches, heated tobacco products, and their accessories, which appear integrated into posts, videos, or content designed to seem spontaneous.

Despite the recent regulatory changes authorizing the commercialization of these products, advertising of tobacco and nicotine products remains prohibited in Argentina, both in traditional media and in digital environments. The amendments introduced by these new regulations represent a clear setback in the frameworks designed to protect public health, particularly the health of younger generations.

However, under the new resolution, electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and even nicotine pouches are now expressly covered by the National Tobacco Control Law. Therefore, although the commercialization of these emerging products is now permitted, their sale to individuals under the age of 18 remains strictly prohibited, and marketing restrictions continue to apply. In this context, it is now more important than ever to demand proper implementation of the national law, ensuring effective oversight and enforcement against deceptive tobacco industry advertising strategies that constantly seek to reach younger generations and normalize the consumption of these products.

We already knew that the tobacco industry’s efforts to expand its market among younger generations had succeeded in positioning electronic cigarettes among the most commonly used substances among students, even while their commercialization remained prohibited. This was evidenced in a 2025 SEDRONAR study, which found that 35.5% of adolescents had already tried electronic cigarettes—then still illegal products—while 28.7% reported having tried conventional cigarettes (either manufactured or hand-rolled), despite the fact that their sale to individuals under 18 is prohibited. In addition, a study conducted by CEDES that same year found that nicotine pouch consumption among adolescents had already reached approximately 4.3%.

The promotion of these products is framed as part of aspirational lifestyles, associated with enjoyment, belonging, or freedom. Through influencers, cultural events, giveaways, or sponsored content, brands manage to reduce risk perception and normalize consumption, especially among young people and adolescents.

In response to this situation, at Fundeps we are promoting a collective monitoring campaign that invites people to detect, record, and report illegal advertising on social media and digital platforms. The goal is to gather evidence to expose these practices and strengthen the enforcement of regulations that protect the right to health.

What can be reported?

Different types of content can be reported, including:

  • Direct advertising of tobacco and nicotine products by brands, businesses, or influencers
  • Display or sale of vapes, nicotine pouches, or heated tobacco products
  • Influencer content showing or promoting these products
  • Promotions, discounts, giveaways, or games linked to these products
  • Sponsorship of music, sports, or recreational events
  • Invitations to establish direct contact with brands or companies
  • Ads or banners on websites

Where can these be found?

These types of advertisements circulate on websites, streaming channels, and social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and X.

How to participate?

To participate, record the advertisement you see and complete the form available on the website. The data is collected anonymously and does not constitute a formal complaint.

Each report contributes to building collective evidence about these practices, exposing non-compliance with the law, and strengthening actions to protect public health, especially that of children and adolescents.

To learn more about how to identify these violations, you can consult the guide also available on the platform.

Contact:

Maga Merlo Vijarra, magamerlov@fundeps.org

,

More than 160 organizations are calling on Formula 1 to end tobacco and nicotine sponsorships

On March 4th, more than 160 civil society organizations from around the world sent a letter to Formula 1 urging it to update its ban on tobacco sponsorships to include nicotine pouches and to stop facilitating the promotion of addictive products to its millions of young fans. We also urged other F1 sponsors—Disney, Lego, and Hot Wheels—to demand action.

The Formula 1 ban on cigarette sponsorship ended in 2006. However, tobacco companies Philip Morris International (PMI) and British American Tobacco (BAT) are currently promoting nicotine pouches—one of their newest products—through Formula 1 team sponsorships. PMI sponsors the Ferrari team to promote its product Zyn, while BAT sponsors the McLaren team with its Velo brand. The logos appear prominently on the cars and on the racing suits of their star drivers, including 2025 world champion Lando Norris and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. These sponsorships are also widely promoted on social media to hundreds of millions of followers.

At the same time, Formula 1 has actively worked to expand its global youth audience, including recent partnerships with Disney, Lego, and Mattel’s Hot Wheels. These collaborations include the presence of Mickey Mouse and friends at F1 races, as well as exclusive Lego and Hot Wheels products aimed at children. According to Formula 1 itself, more than 4 million children aged 8 to 12 follow the sport in the European Union and the United States, while 54% of its TikTok followers and 40% of its Instagram followers are under 25.

“By sponsoring Formula 1 teams, tobacco companies are attempting to reach the same young audiences that F1 has sought to attract. Formula 1 must not be complicit in this strategy. To protect the health of its young fans, it is essential that F1 update its ban on cigarette sponsorships to include other tobacco and nicotine products, such as nicotine pouches,” states the letter addressed to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

In separate letters, the organizations also urged the chief executives of Disney, Lego, and Mattel to join the call for Formula 1 to ban all forms of tobacco- and nicotine-related sponsorship.

“Tobacco companies seek to associate their brands with Formula 1 and its most recognizable drivers because they know that children and adolescents will see them,” said Yolonda C. Richardson, President and CEO of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “Promoting tobacco and nicotine products in the same spaces where Disney, Lego, and Hot Wheels are present is part of the industry’s ongoing strategy to attract new generations, while claiming that their products are only for adults. F1 must protect children and immediately end any ties with the tobacco industry, ensuring that it does not become a platform for promoting harmful and addictive products.”

Nicotine pouches pose significant health risks for younger generations. These products expose young people to high levels of nicotine, a highly addictive substance that can affect brain development—which continues until around age 25—and increase vulnerability to other addictions. In the United States, nicotine pouches are the only tobacco product whose youth use has increased in recent years.

The letter addressed to Formula 1 was signed by 162 organizations from 57 countries.

Contact
Maga Ailén Merlo Vijarra, magamerlov@fundeps.org

,

More Than Labels: Legal Keys to Defending the Right to Adequate Food

In a context of regulatory backsliding that threatens public health policies, Fundeps presents More Than Labels, a collective legal compendium that provides concrete tools to defend the Law on the Promotion of Healthy Eating and to strengthen the human right to adequate food in Argentina.

The Law on the Promotion of Healthy Eating is a key public policy for advancing the human rights to adequate food and to health in Argentina. Its comprehensive design—grounded in scientific evidence and a human rights–based approach—positions it as a structural pillar of food policy and a central instrument for regulating the food environment and protecting the population, particularly groups in situations of greater vulnerability.

However, shortly after its implementation began, the law faced a scenario of regulatory regression. Resistance from the food industry, far from remaining at the level of public discourse, translated into regulatory flexibilizations and administrative decisions that weaken the protection standards defined by Congress. These measures, adopted by state bodies through lower-ranking regulations, jeopardize rights already secured and compromise the constitutional and international human rights obligations of the Argentine State.

Against this backdrop, More Than Labels: Legal Keys to Defending the Law on the Promotion of Healthy Eating is presented as both a collective endeavor and a strategic tool for the active defense of the Healthy Eating Law. The compendium brings together contributions from diverse authors who, drawing on complementary legal approaches, offer clear and actionable arguments to uphold the law’s full force and effect, demand its effective implementation, and challenge regressions at the political, institutional, and judicial levels.

The Healthy Eating Law as a Turning Point in Food Regulation

In her article, María Eugenia Marichal analyzes the Healthy Eating Law as a response to the historical fragmentation of food regulation in Argentina. She characterizes it as a “normative suturing” that articulates health, production, consumption, and food safety within a rights-based framework, and underscores the need to safeguard the State’s regulatory autonomy in public health against attempts at administrative deregulation and regional harmonization that prioritize commercial interests.

Healthy Eating Through a Human Rights–Based Approach

Maximiliano Carrasco examines the law through the lens of the Human Rights–Based Approach, linking it to the State’s constitutional and international obligations. His central argument is clear: the Healthy Eating Law embodies the principles of progressivity and non-regression, and any measure that lowers its standards triggers a presumption of illegitimacy that must be subject to strict scrutiny.

Courts as Arenas of Contestation

In their joint work, María Laura Fons Camarena and Agustina Mozzoni demonstrate how the Healthy Eating Law strengthens the judicial enforceability of the right to adequate food. By enhancing normative density, the law enables a shift beyond assistance-based approaches and opens the door to strategic litigation, positioning the Judiciary as a key barrier against corporate interference and regulatory rollback.

Environmental Justice Contributions to the Right to Food

Ananda María Lavayen advances an innovative reading that connects adequate food with the experience of environmental justice. Her article draws on tools such as broad standing, the dynamic burden of proof, and structural justice approaches, and argues that the full implementation of the Healthy Eating Law is a necessary condition for advancing the effective enforceability of this right.

The Healthy Eating Law and the Consumer Protection System

From a consumer law perspective, Dante Rusconi analyzes how the Healthy Eating Law integrates into the federal consumer protection system. His contribution highlights the strategic role of provinces and municipalities, which possess concrete powers to monitor compliance and impose sanctions, even in contexts of inaction or regression at the national level.

A Tool for Active Defense

Far from being a merely descriptive analysis, More Than Labels seeks to strengthen advocacy, litigation, and civic oversight capacities in a context marked by the weakening of public health policies. The publication reaffirms that defending the Healthy Eating Law is synonymous with defending the right to adequate food, public health, and the role of the State as a guarantor of rights.

Contact:
Maga Ailén Merlo Vijarra, magamerlov@fundeps.org

,

Captured Youth: How the Tobacco Industry Seduces a New Generation

A new report by Fundeps analyzes the marketing and psychological persuasion strategies used by the tobacco industry to normalize the consumption of tobacco and nicotine among young people and adolescents, circumventing regulations and reducing risk perception.

Smoking continues to be the leading cause of preventable death worldwide. Each year, it causes more than 7 million deaths, including 1.6 million resulting from involuntary exposure to smoke from tobacco and nicotine products. In order to survive, the tobacco industry requires new consumers—replacement smokers.

Within this context, we present the report “Captured Youth: Marketing and Psychology of the Tobacco Industry to Engage a New Generation,” a study that examines how the tobacco industry has managed to reposition products historically associated with addiction, disease, and death as symbols of enjoyment, belonging, and freedom among young people and adolescents.

In the report, Julián Pellegrini, Licentiate in Psychology (University of Buenos Aires) and Director of Project Squatters, explores the psychological techniques employed by tobacco marketing to exploit vulnerabilities characteristic of youth audiences. Drawing on insecurities, desires for belonging, and the pursuit of immediate gratification, the industry constructs strategies that transform these experiences into opportunities for expanding its business.

Far from disappearing, traditional advertising strategies have adapted to new formats. Today, the promotion of tobacco and nicotine products is disguised through social media, influencers, cultural events, aspirational aesthetics, and narratives of authenticity and enjoyment. They do not sell products; they sell identities, experiences, and lifestyles.

In this way, an addictive and lethal product is presented as an aesthetic accessory associated with modernity, success, and social acceptance. These sophisticated and opaque tactics enable the industry to evade existing regulations, reduce risk perception, and normalize consumption within the very spaces where youth identity is constructed.

The report’s focus is not only to denounce these practices, but also to understand their mechanisms: how perceptions are shaped, how the symbolic groundwork for early initiation is laid, and how these strategies challenge—and often surpass—current regulatory frameworks.

Understanding how tobacco industry marketing operates is a fundamental step toward strengthening public policies for tobacco prevention and control, protecting young people, and guaranteeing the right to health.

Contact:
Maga Ailén Merlo Vijarra, magamerlov@fundeps.org

,

Healthy environments in municipalities: regulatory advances to protect children

Within the framework of the alliance with UNICEF Argentina, Fundeps visited the municipalities of Villaguay, Ezeiza, and Río Tercero, which are part of the Healthy Environments program under the Municipalities United for Children and Adolescents (MUNA) initiative. Each team is making steady progress in developing regulations to strengthen children’s well-being and nutrition, thereby consolidating a local agenda committed to protecting and promoting healthy environments.

Fundeps, in alliance with UNICEF Argentina, supported a key regulatory-strengthening process throughout 2025 to promote health-enhancing environments in various communities across the country.

During September and October, we visited the municipalities of Villaguay (Entre Ríos), Ezeiza (Buenos Aires), and Río Tercero (Córdoba) with the aim of deepening our work with the MUNA teams that sustain on-the-ground actions focused on promoting health and adequate nutrition, especially for children. At these meetings, we shared with local authorities the progress made and the challenges faced in designing local legal tools that seek to give solidity, continuity, and reach to public policies linked to health-promoting environments.

Municipalities leading the way

The experiences of Villaguay, Ezeiza, and Río Tercero show the commitment of local governments to moving forward with comprehensive policies that improve community well-being. Each municipality is implementing actions to promote physical activity, expand access to healthy foods in educational institutions and public spaces, and strengthen food and nutritional education processes.

In 2025, these localities took on the challenge of developing local legal instruments that would allow them to consolidate and expand these initiatives with a rights-based, child-centered approach. Fundeps and UNICEF provided technical guidance, offering evidence, regulatory references, and relevant examples.

These municipalities now have the opportunity to chart a path toward stronger protection of the right to health and adequate nutrition, ensuring that future generations grow up in healthier, safer, and more equitable environments.

The importance of promoting healthy environments

Fundeps, together with UNICEF, developed the technical document “Regulatory tools to promote healthy environments in municipalities,” aimed at guiding local regulatory processes to protect the rights to health, adequate nutrition, and a dignified childhood.

This document, based on recommendations from human rights organizations and the best available scientific evidence, recognizes that creating environments that support health is a public health priority due to its direct impact on quality of life and on the prevention of non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs), the leading cause of death in Argentina.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), healthy environments are those that reduce risks, strengthen people’s care capacities, and promote autonomy in the spaces where they live, study, work, and play.

Dietary patterns in Argentina show high consumption of ultra-processed products and low intake of fruits and vegetables. According to UNICEF and FIC Argentina (2023), only 20% of children and adolescents meet the recommended consumption of fruits and vegetables, while ultra-processed products account for more than 35% of daily calories. Added to this is a high level of sedentary behavior: 64% of the population does not engage in sufficient physical activity, and more than 80% of adolescents do not meet WHO recommendations.

In this context, municipalities play a strategic role in driving policies that transform everyday environments and make it easier to adopt healthy lifestyles.

Why are local ordinances essential?

The report highlights that municipalities are the level of government closest to the population, capable of adapting national and provincial policies to local realities. Having an ordinance on healthy environments allows for:

• Strengthening actions already being carried out by health, education, and social development departments, based on the highest protection standards and a human-rights approach.
• Ensuring the sustainability and continuity of policies beyond changes in administration.
• Defining obligations and responsibilities for each actor involved, as well as sanctions and compliance mechanisms.
• Facilitating the allocation of resources and specific budgets for the issue.
• Promoting intersectoral coordination and citizen participation, ensuring that policies respond to real territorial needs.

Thus, municipal regulations function as tools to institutionalize and protect the progress made in health, nutrition, and child development, creating conditions that endure over time.

Toward sustainable, rights-based local policy

Building healthy environments requires a comprehensive, long-term approach. It involves not only transforming physical spaces but also institutional frameworks, everyday practices, and food culture.

At Fundeps, we continue to support municipalities in this effort, providing technical assistance, training, and reference materials that strengthen their institutional capacities and promote social participation.

Promoting healthy environments ultimately means building fairer, healthier communities where all people—especially children—can fully exercise their rights to health, adequate nutrition, and a dignified life.

Authors:
María Laura Fons
Victoria Sibila

Contact:
Maga Merlo: magamerlov@fundeps.org

,

Harm is harm: the impact of electronic cigarettes on health.

Tobacco use continues to be one of the main risk factors for disease, disability, and preventable death in Argentina. Meanwhile, the tobacco industry is shifting its strategy toward new products—such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products—in an effort to maintain its market and evade existing regulations.

In response to this situation, the InterAmerican Heart Foundation (FIC Argentina), together with AsAT, ETESA IECS, GRANTAHI from the Italian Hospital, UATA, FEIM, Fundeps, Fundación Sales, Fundación Pacientes Cáncer de Pulmón, and CEDES, developed the document “Emerging products and health damage: Situation in Argentina and recommendations.” Its aim is to systematize the available scientific evidence and propose concrete measures to protect public health.

Current scientific evidence shows that emerging products are not harmless. A recent meta-analysis found that the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and metabolic dysfunction is similar between users of electronic cigarettes and those who smoke conventional cigarettes. In addition, other reviews have reported links to pneumonia, bronchitis, decreased sperm count, dizziness, headaches, migraines, and oral cavity damage. The document also highlights that dual use (electronic and conventional cigarettes) increases disease risk, and that studies suggesting otherwise often come from authors with conflicts of interest.

A gateway to tobacco use:
Available data in Argentina are clear:

  • According to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (2018), 7.1% of adolescents aged 13 to 15 used electronic cigarettes.
  • A more recent survey conducted in 2023 by FIC Argentina found that 8.9% of adolescents in Buenos Aires are current users of these products.
    These results confirm that emerging products can serve as a gateway to tobacco use, even among adolescents who had never smoked before.

No more, no less—just another form of harm:
The most accurate way to understand the impact of vaping is as a different risk, not necessarily a lower one.
A true harm reduction strategy should be implemented by health authorities, aim to protect public health, and focus on specific groups—not rely on the free commercialization of harmful products.

The signatory organizations recommend:

  • Strengthening the enforcement of current regulations.
  • Coordinating actions among public agencies to improve oversight and sanctions.
  • Promoting cooperation with civil society organizations free from conflicts of interest to reduce tobacco and nicotine use.

Electronic cigarettes are not a safe alternative. They pose a different kind of risk, with growing evidence of their impact on health and their role in initiating tobacco use. Protecting the health of the population—especially children and adolescents—requires decisions based on independent evidence, free from industry influence.

Read the full document at LINK.

,

New threat to the Labeling Law in Argentina

Within the framework of World Food Day, civil society organizations are warning about another potential setback to the Law for the Promotion of Healthy Eating, stemming from ongoing negotiations within MERCOSUR.

In April of this year, the Common Market Group (GMC) instructed Working Subgroup No. 3 to resume negotiations for a Technical Regulation on Front-of-Package Nutrition Labeling, with the goal of harmonizing regulations among member countries of the bloc. If approved, this regulation would include, among other elements, the unification of a graphic warning system and a nutrient profile model (NPM).

If such a regulation is adopted, MERCOSUR countries would be required to adapt their national front-of-package labeling standards to align with the bloc’s decision. It is important to highlight that Argentina currently has the most robust front-of-package labeling system in the region. If, during the harmonization process, elements from other countries’ systems were incorporated, the local regulation would be seriously weakened. Adopting lower standards would represent a step backward in the protection of the right to health, adequate nutrition, and access to information in our country.

Why is this a threat?

  • Argentina’s front-of-package labeling system warns about a greater number of excessive critical nutrients than those used in other countries.

  • It is the only one that includes precautionary statements for caffeine and sweeteners, warning against their consumption by children and adolescents.

  • The Argentine system is based on the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Nutrient Profile Model, which covers many more unhealthy products than those addressed by other national models.

For these reasons, we call for any future harmonization within MERCOSUR to fully adopt the Argentine system, to prevent the weakening of the Labeling Law and the resulting setback in public health protection. We urge Argentine representatives to defend the rights that have been achieved.

Within this context, together with other civil society organizations, we are relaunching the campaign “Don’t Cover Our Eyes”, first developed in 2021, now with the goal of raising awareness about the need to defend the law against these threats.

Furthermore, as part of collaborative work with various academic and civil society organizations across the region, regional institutions from Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay have recently issued a joint statement, recognizing the Argentine system as the model to follow for a potential common technical regulation on front-of-package labeling.

Organizations committed to the right to food from different MERCOSUR countries will participate as observers in the upcoming Working Subgroup No. 3 meeting, to be held in October, to closely monitor the progress of these discussions.

More information:

Contact:
Maga Merlo — magamerlov@fundeps.org

,

From Fundeps, Fundación Sanar and Anfibia Podcast, we launch the second season of “Exceso de Todo.”

Narrated by journalist Soledad Barruti, this new season once again focuses on the right to healthy food, in a context of setbacks to the Front-of-Pack Labelling Law and a deepening food emergency. It also dares to look ahead  to imagine the future and talk about food sovereignty.

Starting September 4, the second season of Exceso de Todo is available.
The podcast that revealed that Argentina’s Law on the Promotion of Healthy Eating is much more than the black octagons on food packaging returns with new questions: Why is a law built on scientific evidence, backed by experts, and passed with broad political consensus now facing attempts at deregulation?

In its first season, the podcast used the Law on the Promotion of Healthy Eating — known as the Front-of-Pack Labelling Law — as a starting point to show that eating well goes far beyond labelling. Across five episodes, it explored how we eat in Argentina, what we need to eat better, and why food choices are not merely individual decisions.

In this second edition, through three episodes, journalist Soledad Barruti uncovers how the food industry interferes with the implementation of the law, the role the State plays in this process, and how civil society is organizing to defend it.

This season also digs deeper, inviting us to question the logic behind how Argentina’s food system has been and continues to be regulated. Talking about what we eat, how it’s produced, and how we consume it has never been more urgent.

The first episode analyzes the ongoing attempts to deregulate the Front-of-Pack Labelling Law and the industry’s strategies to weaken its enforcement.

The second explores the social consequences of living and growing up in a state of food emergency — especially for children and adolescents.

The third looks beyond the urgency to imagine a new paradigm: food sovereignty as the path toward ensuring access to fresh, healthy and sustainable food.

Listen to the podcast here

Exceso de Todo is an original production by Fundeps, Fundación Sanar, and Anfibia Podcast.

General Coordination: Natalia Arenas
Journalistic Production and Script: Lucila Lopardo
Sound Design: Mateo Corrá
Executive Production: Tomás Pérez Vizzón
Communications: Vera Ferrari
Visual Identity and Illustrations: Flora Buraschi
Administration: Ana Laura Fortuzzi
Anfibia Magazine Direction: Cristian Alarcón

At Fundeps, we continue working to defend evidence-based public policies that protect the right to health and guarantee adequate nutrition for everyone.

Contact:
Maga Merlo – magamerlov@fundeps.org

,

A law for Córdoba to take the lead on healthy eating

Fundeps and the Córdoba Association of Nutritionists have presented a bill to expand and ensure the full implementation of the Food Labeling Law in Córdoba. Among other measures, it establishes the prioritization of healthy foods in kiosks, school cafeterias, and public procurement for food programs, such as PAICor. With the initial push from legislator Brenda Austin, the initiative has the support of different legislative blocs.

This Thursday, July 31, the Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies (Fundeps) and the Córdoba College of Nutritionists presented a provincial bill to Promote Healthy Eating. The bill expands and complements the National Front-of-Package Labeling Law to ensure its full implementation in Córdoba. With the initial support of Radical legislator Brenda Austin, the bill already has 22 signatures from representatives of seven legislative blocs, and more endorsements and contributions are expected in the coming days.

The initiative is also backed by various academic and civil society organizations at the provincial, national, and regional levels, particularly the Latin American and Caribbean Community on Nutrition and Health (COLANSA), whose support is key to building healthier environments in Córdoba and across the region.

Why a provincial healthy eating law?

Since October 2021, Argentina has had Law 27.642 on the Promotion of Healthy Eating, better known as the Front-of-Package Labeling Law, which protects the constitutional rights to health, adequate nutrition, and consumer information. It was approved by large parliamentary majorities and supported by more than 150 scientific, academic, and health organizations from across Latin America. This progressive regulation addresses food issues from a comprehensive perspective and establishes four key pillars: warning labels (the well-known seals); regulation of food and beverage advertising, promotion, and sponsorship; the promotion of healthy school environments; and public procurement of food by the State.

Law 27.642 regulates matters of public order and is therefore mandatory throughout the country. However, the healthy eating promotion policies it defines require provinces to also do their part.

Ten provinces have already taken significant steps in this direction. According to Argentina’s Normative Map, most have done so by simply adhering to the national law. However, provinces like Catamarca, Tierra del Fuego, and Neuquén have gone further, enacting provincial laws that complement, adapt, and improve the implementation of the national law within their territories. Córdoba now has the opportunity to pass an exemplary regulation and become one of the leading provinces in protecting the right to health and adequate nutrition for its population—especially for those in the most vulnerable situations, such as children and adolescents.

The need is urgent. The National Analysis on the Food Situation in Vulnerable Neighborhoods, published in May 2024, revealed that 89% of the 5,357 surveyed households in vulnerable neighborhoods in Buenos Aires City and 19 provinces suffered from food insecurity. Similarly, according to the Social Debt Observatory of the Catholic University of Argentina, in 2024, 35.5% of children and adolescents were in a situation of food insecurity, and almost half of this population experienced severe food deprivation.

In the same vein, UNICEF’s 2024 Rapid Survey found that more than half of households had reduced their food consumption due to lack of money—especially fresh and healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, meats, and dairy products.

Córdoba is no exception. In February, a year-on-year study published by the Institute of Statistics and Social and Economic Trends of the Grocery Owners’ Center showed a significant deterioration in the nutritional quality of Córdoba households. It found an increase in the consumption of cheaper but less nutritious foods and a significant drop in the consumption of vegetables, fruits, and meats, affecting between 30% and 62% of surveyed households.

This worsens an already concerning situation, where a lack of essential nutrients coexists with malnutrition due to excess critical nutrients. As a result, non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) are rising at increasingly younger ages and in more vulnerable sectors, representing the leading cause of death at 73.4%.

What does the bill presented in Córdoba propose?

In this context, the Healthy Eating Promotion Bill, driven by Fundeps and the Córdoba Association of Nutritionists, seeks for the province to take an active role in monitoring and enforcing front-of-package labeling and restrictions on the advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of unhealthy foods. It also expands these regulations to spaces under provincial and local jurisdiction. In addition, it strengthens components related to healthy school environments and public food procurement.

Regarding advertising, the bill restricts the marketing of unhealthy products at points of sale—such as kiosks or supermarkets—and in public spaces. It also defines what constitutes advertising aimed at children and adolescents, addressing a major gap in the national legislation. In this way, the text provides stronger protection of the right to information and adequate nutrition in the face of aggressive marketing strategies that encourage the purchase of products harmful to health.

As for school environments, the bill establishes mandatory food education content in schools and provides training for teachers, kitchen staff, and the entire educational community. It also mandates that educational institutions be free of unhealthy products. This applies both to foods available for sale (kiosks and cafeterias) and to the menus offered in public and private school cafeterias.

In this regard, the bill formalizes a nutritional framework for PAICor food programs, in line with national recommendations, aiming to ensure a greater supply of healthy foods—such as fruits, vegetables, and meats—across all its management systems. It also promotes sourcing part of the fresh foods from family, peasant, and Indigenous agriculture.

On public procurement, the bill incorporates the national law’s criteria and prioritizes the purchase of healthy foods in all types of contracts and food programs, setting a minimum percentage of fresh foods. This priority becomes absolute when the recipients are children and adolescents. This is particularly relevant today, as many food programs previously managed by the national government are now being shifted to provincial and even municipal administrations.

Another strong point of the proposed regulation is the creation of a Healthy Eating Observatory with the participation of civil society to ensure monitoring, transparency, and public access to information on the law’s compliance and the population’s nutritional health status.

Finally, the bill acknowledges the role of local governments and municipalities in its implementation, encouraging them to adopt the necessary measures to ensure compliance with the proposed standards.

An opportunity for all of Córdoba society

This bill represents a concrete opportunity for Córdoba to take national leadership in the comprehensive protection of the rights to health, adequate nutrition, and consumer information—especially for children and adolescents throughout the province. In the face of a worsening food crisis, it is urgent to act decisively to guarantee public policies that prioritize health and the right to information over commercial interests.

Fundeps and the Córdoba Association of Nutritionists invite legislators, provincial and municipal executive authorities, social organizations, educational communities, and citizens in general to support this bill so that healthy eating is not a privilege but a reality on every table and in every school in Córdoba.

Today, more than ever, advancing a provincial healthy eating law is an urgent necessity.

Author:
Nayla Palacios

Contact:
Maga Ailén Merlo Vijarra – magamerlov@fundeps.org

,

Health at risk: government decisions that affect us

The recent decisions of the national government put the health of the population at risk. Argentina’s possible withdrawal from the WHO weakens its ability to access funding and technical cooperation based on scientific evidence. This announcement is part of a context of cuts, flexibility and deregulation of health policies that benefit large corporations at the expense of public health.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

1 – Argentina is moving away from international health standards

  • If Argentina withdraws from the WHO, its access to technical cooperation, financing and evidence-based recommendations on health matters could be weakened.
  • The WHO, among other things, is the main body for coordinating and promoting regulations for the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as malnutrition, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, COPD, and certain types of cancer, which are directly associated with the consumption of ultra-processed products and tobacco and nicotine.
  • Argentina’s withdrawal from the WHO therefore weakens its access to technical cooperation, financing and evidence-based recommendations on health matters.
  • It also affects our country’s ability to be part of global strategies to combat the tobacco epidemic. The WHO is the governing body of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a global public health treaty that promotes comprehensive policies based on the best scientific evidence.

2 – Relaxing front labelling benefits industry, not the population

  • The Law on the Promotion of Healthy Eating is a major step forward in protecting the right to information and healthy eating. However, provisions 11362 and 11378 recently passed by ANMAT reduced the standards for applying warning labels on packaging of ultra-processed foods, allowing products with high levels of sugar, sodium and saturated fats to avoid the black labels.
  • These changes are not based on scientific evidence, but rather respond to pressure from the food industry, which implies a regression of acquired rights: it generates confusion in the population and affects the ability to make informed decisions about how we want to eat, negatively impacting health.
  • As the State reduces its capacity to protect the health of the population, large corporations gain more freedom to sell less healthy products, with fewer controls and without proper information. More freedom for companies, less freedom for citizens.

3 – Less public health

These decisions by the national government deepen the crisis in the health system, which is affected, among other things, by:

  • Budget cuts across the public health system affecting hospitals, health programs, and the purchase of medicines and basic supplies for health centers, leading to shortages and reduced services.
  • The closure of programs and mass layoffs have left key initiatives for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, mental health, and free distribution of medicines without funding.
  • The reduction in health personnel and the weakening of the Ministry of Health have overloaded the system, affecting care and access to treatment, which worsens the health crisis and particularly harms health personnel and those who depend on the public system for medical care.

4 – Who benefits from these measures?

  • The relaxation of front-of-package labelling and the withdrawal of the WHO do not respond to a logic of efficiency, but to a deregulation strategy that favours the most powerful economic actors.
  • The weakening of public health policies that seek to prevent diseases harms people’s quality of life and overloads the health system.
  • While access to health care is being affected by the population, the food and tobacco industries are gaining strength, achieving more lax regulations that allow the marketing of products without clear warnings.
  • With these decisions, Argentina not only weakens its internal regulations, but also moves away from the global health goals established in the UN Agenda 2030 regarding the promotion of healthy eating, zero hunger and the fight against the tobacco epidemic.

 

Conclusion: Less State, more privileges for the big monopolies, fewer rights for the population.

The right to health and information are at risk. Argentina’s announced withdrawal from the WHO, the relaxation of front-of-package labelling, and cuts in supplies and health personnel are different aspects of the same strategy to weaken public health policies.

At Fundeps, we urge that these decisions be reversed and regulations be put in place to protect the health of the entire population.