Mexican Newspapers Ban Newspaper Sex Ads

The newspaper El Universal says it has banned "ads that could be used by traffickers of people." (2011 Getty Images)

Several Mexican newspapers are saying no to smut.

Two newspaper groups that are the largest in Mexico said they will no longer run sex ads that once blanketed the back pages of popular tabloids.

The newspaper El Universal says it has banned "ads that could be used by traffickers of people." It is part of an effort to combat what experts call a huge problem of exploitation of women and children in Mexico.

The newspaper Reforma also says it has canceled sex ads.

Both paper's tabloid editions on Tuesday continued to run ads for what appear to sexually oriented phone chat services, but escort-style ads had disappeared.

Neither paper specified what guidelines they were applying in the ban, and some other papers continued to run escort ads.

Based on reporting by The Associated Press.