World No Tobacco Day 2020: Key messages

Protecting youth from industry manipulation and preventing them from tobacco and nicotine use

Key messages:

• →Tobacco products kill more than 8 million people every year. Tobacco and related industries must continuously find new consumers to replace the ones that their products are killing to maintain revenue.

•  →Tobacco companies spent over 8 billion in marketing and advertising and the world lost 8 million lives from causes related to tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke.

•  →Tobacco and related industries’ tactics to market to children and adolescents include:
  • -Over 15,000 flavours, most of which attract children and adolescents
  • -Social media influencers and marketing
  • -Sponsored events and parties
  • -School scholarships
  • -Sleek, sexy designs
  • -Product placement in entertainment media
  • -Free product samples
  • -Single stick cigarettes make addiction more affordable
  • -Selling products at eye level for children
  • -Product placement and advertising near schools

• →We want to create a generation that is free from tobacco and second-hand smoke and the death and disease that they cause.

• →Break free from the tobacco and related industries’ manipulation by becoming educated on their tactics and the harm caused by their products.

• →Tobacco use is responsible for 25% of all cancer deaths globally. Use of nicotine and tobacco products increases the risk of cancer, cardiovascular and pulmonary disease.

• →Over 1 million people die from second-hand smoke exposure every year.

• →Children and adolescents who use e-cigarettes at least double their chance of smoking cigarettes later in life. 

• →E-cigarette use increases your risk of heart disease and lung disorders.

• →Nicotine in e-cigarettes is a highly addictive drug and can damage children’s developing brains.

• →Smoking shisha is just as harmful as other forms of tobacco use.

• →Smokeless doesn’t mean that it’s harmless. 

• →Smoking is expensive, and you pay for it with your looks and your health. It causes bad breath, yellow teeth, wrinkly skin, unhealthy lungs and a poor immune system.

• →Shisha smoke is toxic. It contains substances that cause cancer.

• →Chewing tobacco can cause mouth cancer, tooth loss, brown teeth, white patches and gum disease.

• →We encourage everyone to become educated, spread awareness and create a tobacco-free generation.

• →Tobacco companies bombard children and adolescents with social media messages that were viewed over 25 billion times. That kind of social media reach is to die for.

Source: https://www.who.int/news-room/campaigns/world-no-tobacco-day/world-no-tobacco-day-2020/key-messages