World No Tobacco Day: Unmasking the appeal

WHO is pleased to announce the theme for the 2025 World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) campaign: “Unmasking the Appeal: Exposing Industry Tactics on Tobacco and Nicotine Products.” This year, the campaign will focus on revealing the tactics that the tobacco and nicotine industries use to make their harmful products seem attractive.

One of the primary public health challenges today is the attractiveness of tobacco, nicotine, and related products, particularly to young audiences. The industry consistently tries to find ways to make these products appealing, adding flavours and other agents that change their smell, taste, or appearance. These additives are designed to mask the harshness of tobacco, thereby increasing its palatability, particularly among young people. Other tactics include:

• Glamorized marketing: Sleek designs, attractive colours, and alluring flavours are strategically used to attract a younger demographic, including through digital media channels.
• Deceptive designs: Some products mimic sweets, candies, and even cartoon characters—items children naturally find appealing.
• Coolants and additives: These can make the experience smoother, increasing the likelihood of continued use and reducing the chance of quitting.

These tactics can contribute to early initiation of smoking or nicotine use, with potential lifelong addiction and health consequences. By making these products more attractive, the industry not only boosts their immediate consumer base but also makes quitting harder, prolonging exposure to harmful substances.

Our 2025 WNTD campaign aims to:

- Raise awareness: Inform the public on how industry tactics manipulate the appearance and appeal of tobacco and nicotine products.
- Advocate for policy change:
- measures to ban flavours and additives that make these products more appealing;
- complete bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, including on digital platforms; and
- regulation of the design of the products and their packages to make them less appealing.
- Reduce demand:
Exposing these tactics aims to reduce demand, particularly among youth, ultimately lowering their exposure to nicotine and tobacco products.

By unmasking these strategies, the campaign will to shine a light on the ways the industry markets addiction, driving demand reduction efforts and supporting long-term public health.

Join the campaign to raise awareness and advocate for a healthier, tobacco-free future this World No Tobacco Day.