WHO Seeks Urgent Ban On Flavoured Tobacco, Nicotine Products
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched a new report calling on governments to urgently ban all flavours in tobacco and nicotine products, including cigarettes, pouches, hookahs and e-cigarettes, to protect youth from addiction and disease.
WHO, in a publication on Friday, said flavours like menthol, bubble gum and cotton candy are masking the harshness of tobacco and nicotine products and turning toxic products into youth-friendly bait.
It added that the flavours not only make it harder to quit but have also been linked to serious lung diseases. It also noted that cigarettes, which still kill up to half of their users, also come in flavours or can have flavours added to them.
The new report is in commemoration of 2025 World No Tobacco Day, which is celebrated every May 31. The theme of 2025 is ‘Unmasking the Appeal: Exposing Industry Tactics on Tobacco and Nicotine Products’
According to the WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, flavours are fuelling a new wave of addiction and should be banned.
He added, “They undermine decades of progress in tobacco control. Without bold action, the global tobacco epidemic, already killing around 8 million people each year, will continue to be driven by addiction dressed up with appealing flavours.”
Ghebreyesus said the publication, titled ‘Flavour accessories in tobacco products enhance attractiveness and appeal’, revealed how flavours and accessories like capsule filters and click-on drops are marketed to bypass regulations and hook new users.
He further stated that currently, over 50 countries have banned flavoured tobacco, while more than 40 countries banned e-cigarette sales. He added five countries specifically banned disposables and seven banned e-cigarette flavours, while flavour accessories remain largely unregulated.
According to him, countries such as Belgium, Denmark, and Lithuania are taking action, while the WHO urges others to follow.
The report emphasised that flavours are a leading reason why young people try tobacco and nicotine products. It added that when paired with flashy packaging and social media-driven marketing, it increases the appeal of nicotine pouches, heated tobacco, and disposable vapes into addictive and harmful products, which aggressively target young people.
The WHO Director of Health Promotion, Dr Rüdiger Krech, said, “We are watching a generation get hooked on nicotine through gummy bear-flavoured pouches and rainbow-coloured vapes.” He added, “This isn’t innovation, its manipulation. And we must stop it.”
WHO reiterated that tobacco products, including heated tobacco products, expose users to cancer-causing chemicals and should be strictly regulated.
According to Krech, the 2025 World No Tobacco Day campaign honours governments, youth activists and civil society leaders pushing back against industry interference.
Krech added, “Your actions are changing policy and saving lives.”
The global health body further reiterated that with around eight million tobacco-related deaths each year, the time for action is now. It further stressed that flavours and the industries that deploy them have no place in a healthy future.
WHO Seeks Urgent Ban On Flavoured Tobacco, Nicotine Products is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
