The Mexican Health Ministry has disclosed that on Thursday that the country will ban the importation of electronic cigarettes by presidential decree.

The ministry who made this known in a statement said that the ban was part of actions taken by the government to protect the health of Mexicans as well as to protect the population, especially young people, from irreversible damage.

The statement added that the commerce of electronic cigarettes in the country was banned in 2008, however, the regulatory framework necessary to prevent the trade of the devices on the black market would be satisfied by the new decree.

The ministry cited WHO that vaping device is harmful and represents a threat to the general population.

“Some 938 thousand teenagers have tried electronic cigarettes at least once, with 160,000 using them regularly in Mexico,” the statement said.