ABSTRACT
Latin America is currently at a crossroads regarding non-communicable diseases (‘NCDs’); millions of deaths are caused by tobacco, alcohol consumption and poor diet, the three factors most closely related to NCDs. In Mexico, in 2010 alone, there were more than 25,000 deaths related to alcohol, over 53,000 attributable to tobacco and over 80,000 due to obesity and diabetes.1 These growing epidemics are generating important health regulation transformations in Latin America. The epidemiological transition from infectious diseases to NCDs requires the regulation of behaviour and consumption patterns that result in chronic diseases. Although alcohol regulation has existed for a long time and, more recently, demands for food and diet regulation are growing, the pioneer in NCD regulation in Latin America has been tobacco control.
