Translated with AI
For decades, anti-smoking measures have saved millions of lives. Today, the tobacco industry has adapted its strategies and is planning a comeback. This is the warning issued by the WHO ahead of World No Tobacco Day, celebrated annually on May 31, according to the UN press service.
“We are now at the threshold of a new era of industry-fueled addiction, and tobacco control measures have not kept pace with these changes,” said Dr. Ghazi Zaatari, professor and head of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the American University of Beirut School of Medicine.
A public health expert who currently leads a World Health Organization (WHO) study group on tobacco product regulation warns that a new wave of nicotine and nicotine-like products could radically change and expand the addiction market, making it even more accessible to children and young people.
Synthetic nicotine: cheap and accessible Over the past five years, the industry has increasingly shifted to the use of synthetic nicotine and its chemical analogues created in laboratories. Producing such substances has become almost as cheap as extracting nicotine from tobacco. According to the expert, this paves the way for a new generation of products that may contain almost no tobacco while still being addictive by acting on the same brain receptors as regular nicotine. "These products are designed to simplify initiation, encourage regular use, and reduce perception of risk, especially among adolescents and young adults," warns Dr. Zaatari.
A new addiction for new generations The promotion of these products is increasingly focused not on tobacco itself, but on lifestyle, technology, and social identity. At the same time, synthetic nicotine and its analogues create new regulatory challenges. Some companies market these products as "tobacco-free," "cleaner," "modern," or "less harmful," despite their effects on the same addiction mechanisms in the brain. Furthermore, nicotine analogues are sometimes advertised as "nicotine-free," despite their high addictive potential.
Children and adolescents remain particularly vulnerable. Since the brain continues to develop until around age 25, exposure to nicotine during this period can alter neural connections responsible for attention, learning, and impulse control. This is why young people remain a prime target for nicotine product marketing.
"Bright packaging, fruity flavors, and influencer marketing are not just innovations, but mechanisms aimed at normalizing nicotine consumption and accelerating addiction among the younger generation," said Dr. Zaatari.
Comprehensive laws are needed The expert warns that countries cannot afford to wait for the new generation of nicotine products to fully establish themselves in the market, and calls for urgently updating tobacco control legislation to make it as comprehensive as possible.
"Without stronger and more flexible policies, the world risks entering a new phase of the nicotine epidemic," he noted. In many countries, existing anti-tobacco laws were not designed to regulate nicotine analogues, synthetic compounds, and hybrid products that blur the lines between pharmaceutical, recreational, and tobacco products.
WHO European Region: Alarming trends call for change Tobacco causes 1.2 million deaths annually in the WHO European Region. Of these, approximately 202,000 are due to exposure to secondhand smoke.
The region maintains the highest rate of tobacco consumption among adults in the world and is projected to maintain this level until at least 2030. Among adolescents aged 13–15, approximately four million use tobacco products, and another 4.2 million use e-cigarettes. Vaping prevalence among adolescents in the region is also the highest in the world – 14.3 percent, compared to 7.2 percent in other regions.
According to the latest WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, only 18 of the 53 countries in the European Region have adopted comprehensive laws completely banning smoking in public places. Although more than half of the region's countries have achieved the recommended tobacco tax levels, cigarette prices are not rising fast enough to reduce their affordability. Furthermore, in 19 countries, cigarettes are more affordable today than in 2014, which, according to the WHO, indicates the need for further tax increases.
WHO experts believe that stopping the tobacco epidemic is only possible through a comprehensive and evidence-based policy. This includes stricter regulation of all tobacco and nicotine products, including e-cigarettes, a complete ban on advertising and promotion, restrictions on flavors, higher taxes, the introduction of neutral packaging, stronger measures to protect young people, and expanded access to nicotine cessation assistance.
WHO experts are calling on governments to urgently strengthen regulations before a new generation is lured into nicotine addiction by the guise of innovative products. After all, behind the stylish packaging and appealing flavors lies the same business model: profiting from addiction and the associated harm.
