The drinking and smoking age is 18. You can definitely get cigs and booze before your 18th birthday if you're crafty, but I've never seen a shop outwardly sell these and bribe cops, nor are cigs and booze trafficked by cartels— this just sounds ridiculous.
Source: I grew up in Mexico. It's definitely more lax than the USA, but it's not the Wild West.
Source: I grew up in Mexico. It's definitely more lax than the USA, but it's not the Wild West.