The World Health Organization (WHO) and global partners celebrate World No Tobacco Day every year on 31 May, World No Tobacco Day 2025, under the theme “Unmasking the Appeal: Exposing Industry Tactics on Tobacco and Nicotine Products,” exposes how the tobacco and nicotine industries use manipulative tactics – such as appealing product designs, attractive flavors and glamourized marketing – to target young people and mask the dangers of their highly addictive products. In 2022, an estimated 6 million adolescents used tobacco in the Western Pacific Region. This underscores the urgent need to protect the youth from these harmful products and deceptive industry tactics. Despite this alarming figure, only six countries have comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. Flavors, a known gateway for youth initiation, remain largely unregulated. In countries where e-cigarette sale is permitted, only three countries regulate flavor. For tobacco products, just one has imposed flavor restrictions. While serious gaps remain, momentum for stronger action is growing. Countries continue to strengthen broader tobacco control measures with Lao People’s Democratic Republic implementing plain packaging and the Cook Islands adopting critical amendments to close the gaps in their tobacco control law. As of April 2025, 11 countries have banned e-cigarettes, with the Cook Islands, Nauru, and Viet Nam among the most recent to adopt this measure.WHO calls on governments to adopt stronger measures, including banning flavors, regulating product design, enforcing plain packaging, banning advertising and promotion, supporting quitting, and increasing taxes to reduce accessibility, to protect future generations from nicotine addictions and prevent additional health and financial burdens.
World No Tobacco Day is a critical opportunity to expose industry deception, protect current and future generations from lifelong addiction, and drive comprehensive action for a healthier future.
Source: Web Who
