[The age of public goods in health, a national perspective].

Adverse health effects from smoking have been widely known for a long time. Nevertheless, tobacco use does not appear to decrease, and with it the inevitable consequences on morbidity and mortality for millions of people continue. This year alone, the WHO calculates that five million people will die from tobacco use. In Mexico, 26.2% of the population between the ages of 15 and 65 smoke regularly and consumption increases among youth and women. The WHO adopted the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, ratified by Mexico, which brought about the General Law for Tobacco Control, an important milestone in Mexican sanitary policy. This law will soon be in force and is expected to have a notable effect on containing the smoking epidemic in the country.