A study by Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health (INSP) finds that between 67% and 95.7% of Mexicans aged 12 to 65 support all eight WHO-recommended measures to reduce alcohol consumption.
MEXICO CITY — Vital Strategies and RESET Alcohol commend Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health (INSP) for publishing a study that answers a question legislators and decision-makers ask again and again: would the Mexican public support strong alcohol policies? According to 19,200 people surveyed in the 2025 National Survey on Drug, Alcohol and Tobacco Use (Encodat), representative of the population aged 12 to 65, the answer is yes.
The study was published on July 29 in Salud Pública de México. Researchers surveyed 3,847 adolescents aged 12 to 17 and 15,353 adults aged 18 to 65, with results representative of 92.6 million people.
All eight measures to reduce alcohol consumption drew majority support, including alcohol tax increases — the measure at the center of the RESET Alcohol initiative because of its cost-effectiveness in reducing alcohol consumption. On taxation, the 2025 Encodat data show that two in three Mexicans in the age group studied support raising the alcohol tax. Support holds even where resistance might be expected: more than half of frequent drinkers favor a tax increase. Nearly nine in ten (86.9%) want alcohol brands out of sports sponsorship; 88% support shorter late-night sales hours; 86.8% back raising the minimum purchase age; and 79.4% favor reducing the number of retail outlets. The remaining three measures topped 90%: the right to diagnosis and treatment for alcohol use disorders (95.7%), tougher penalties for drunk driving (95.6%) and more sobriety checkpoints (92.8%).
“This study answers the question that so often stalls legislative action: is the public ready? Mexico’s answer is clear, and it comes from the government’s own survey,” said Adam Karpati, Chief Public Health Officer, Vital Strategies. “We commend the Mexican government for generating this evidence and making it public. We stand with Mexico’s government and civil society as they work to turn this public mandate into policy.”
On taxation, the upcoming federal budget package is a concrete opportunity to introduce and pass an increase. Mexico’s alcohol tax has not changed in a decade. WHO identifies alcohol taxes among the three most cost-effective measures to reduce consumption. The INSP study’s discussion also draws on findings from a 2024 RESET Alcohol survey, which documented that support for taxes rises when the revenue is earmarked for health care.
In Mexico, 68.2 million people aged 12 to 65 (73.7%) have consumed alcohol at least once, and 14.5 million (15.7%) reported heavy drinking in the past month. Alcohol consumption is estimated to cause 42,000 deaths a year in the country. It also imposes a substantial economic burden in direct and indirect costs, amounting to 552 billion pesos annually — equivalent to 2.1% of gross domestic product.
About Vital Strategies
Vital Strategies is a global health organization that believes every person should be protected by an equitable and effective public health system. We work with governments, communities and organizations around the world to reimagine public health so that health is supported in all the places we live, work and gather. The result is millions of people living longer, healthier lives. To learn more, visit www.vitalstrategies.org or connect with us on LinkedIn.
About RESET Alcohol
RESET Alcohol is a global initiative that brings together national governments, civil society, researchers and leaders in public health and alcohol policy to implement the World Health Organization’s SAFER policy package, with an emphasis on raising alcohol taxes and targeted efforts to restrict alcohol marketing and availability. The initiative is led by Vital Strategies in collaboration with in-country partners in the countries where it operates and with global technical partners including the World Health Organization, the Economics for Health team at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Global Alcohol Policy Alliance (GAPA) and Movendi International.
Reference
López-Olmedo N, et al. Aceptabilidad de modificaciones a políticas públicas para reducir el consumo de alcohol en población mexicana [Acceptability of public policy changes to reduce alcohol consumption in the Mexican population]. Salud Publica Mex. 2026;68:400-408. https://doi.org/10.21149/18219