The World Health Institution (WHO) is intensifying its efforts to combat the rising use of flavored tobacco and nicotine products, particularly among young people. The agency is calling on governments to implement extensive bans on all flavors in these products to protect youth from addiction and associated health risks.

According to the WHO, flavored nicotine and tobacco products are especially appealing to young users, often serving as the primary reason for experimentation. These products are inherently addictive and toxic, sometimes more so than traditional tobacco, and can lead to serious lung diseases. The WHO maintains that flavors not only increase usage but also make quitting more arduous.

Youth-Oriented Marketing Tactics

Nicotine products frequently employ marketing strategies that directly target young people. This includes using bright, colorful packaging and sweet, fruity flavor descriptors.

Research indicates that such advertising can activate reward centers in adolescent brains, diminishing the effectiveness of health warnings.

Young people have also reported an increasing prevalence of flavored nicotine product marketing across various social media platforms.

This marketing strategy spans all forms of nicotine and tobacco products, including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, pouches, and hookahs.

The WHO asserts that flavors like menthol, bubble gum, and cotton candy “mask the harshness of tobacco” and other nicotine products, transforming harmful substances “into youth-kind bait.”

“Without bold action, the global tobacco epidemic…will continue to be driven by addiction dressed up with appealing flavours.”

Call to Action

Ahead of World No Tobacco Day, the WHO released a series of fact sheets and urged governments to ban all flavors in tobacco and nicotine products to safeguard young people from lifelong addiction and disease.

The WHO referenced Articles 9 and 10 of the 2003 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC),which requires countries to regulate the contents and disclosure of tobacco products,including flavorings.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “without bold action, the global tobacco epidemic…will continue to be driven by addiction dressed up with appealing flavours.”

As of December 2024, over 50 countries had implemented policies regulating tobacco additives, primarily targeting flavorings through bans on flavor labels or images and restrictions on the sale of flavored products. some countries also regulate flavor use during production.

However,the WHO has observed that tobacco companies and retailers have found ways to circumvent these regulations by offering flavor accessories like sprays,cards,capsules,and filter tips to add flavor to unflavored products.

The WHO is urging all 184 FCTC parties, representing 90 percent of the world’s population, to enforce strong bans and restrictions on flavored products and related additives.