World No Tobacco Day 2026: unmasking the appeal – countering nicotine and tobacco addiction
Baku, May 31, AZERTAC
World No Tobacco Day is marked annually on 31 May – bringing together governments, health organizations, civil society and youth from around the world to raise awareness of the threats of tobacco use and the tactics used by the tobacco industry, and to promote effective measures to end nicotine and tobacco addiction, according to the official website of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Building on momentum
Building on the momentum of the 2025 campaign, World No Tobacco Day 2026 reaffirms WHO’s commitment to exposing the evolving strategies of the tobacco and nicotine industry and to advancing policies that protect young people and communities from addiction.
The 2026 campaign aims to:
• expose the industry’s strategies – including the use of synthetic nicotine, nicotine salts and analogues designed to enhance addiction potential while being marketed as innovative or even less harmful;
• promote stronger policy action – through bans on flavours, advertising and promotion (including digital and social media), and through stricter regulation of packaging and product design that increase youth appeal; and
• empower youth and the public – by providing knowledge and tools to recognize and resist industry influence and by ensuring access to evidence-based cessation support.
Need for stronger policies to protect youth in the WHO European Region
The European Region continues to face a high and gender-balanced adolescent tobacco burden. Approximately 11.6% of 13–15-year-olds (around 4 million) use tobacco (11.8% of boys and 11.4% of girls, roughly 2 million each). The Region has the highest global prevalence of adolescent cigarette smoking (8.4%) and the highest rate of smoking among adolescent girls (8.7%).
Use of nicotine products such as e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches is increasing rapidly among youth. The European Region has the highest global average prevalence of e-cigarette use among adolescents aged 13–15 years – at 14.3%, with similar rates among boys (13.6%) and girls (15%). Comparisons between adult and adolescent survey results reveal a striking pattern: in a third of countries in the Region, the prevalence of e-cigarette use among adolescents is at least 5 times higher than among adults.
Despite these concerning trends, significant policy gaps remain. WHO data for 2024 show that only 7 countries in the Region ban all e-cigarette flavours, while 5 do not apply age restrictions on sales. Eight countries have no restrictions on advertising, promotion and sponsorship; 19 have partial bans; and 10 do not regulate e-cigarette use in public places. These gaps leave young people particularly vulnerable to targeted marketing and product designs intended to sustain nicotine addiction.
Protecting future generations
Studies show that e-cigarette use can increase conventional cigarette uptake, particularly among nonsmoking youth, by nearly 3 times, undermining tobacco control efforts.
World No Tobacco Day 2026 provides an opportunity to highlight how the tobacco and nicotine industry continues to repackage and rebrand its products to attract a new generation – particularly children and adolescents – while attempting to evade stronger tobacco control measures worldwide.
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