Bright products. Dark intentions.
Unmasking the Appeal
Appealing flavours, but hidden dangers.
Shameless manipulation of our children, for industry profit.
Every day, tobacco and nicotine industries use carefully engineered products and deceptive tactics to hook a new generation of users and keep existing ones.
Keep the industry out.
Regional event:
From Attraction to Deception: Unmasking the Tobacco Industry’s Product Design and Digital Tactics
4 June 2025
11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Washington, D.C., or EDT)
Global event:
Exposing lies, protecting lives: Unmask the appeal of tobacco and nicotine products
13 May 2025
13:00 – 14:00 CET Online event
Dr Jarbas Barbosa -Unmasking the Appeal: Bright products. Dark intentions. World No Tobacco Day 2025
An estimated 37 million children aged 13-15 years worldwide use tobacco.
In many countries the rate of e-cigarette use of young people exceeds that of adults.
Marketing content promoting e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products has been viewed more than 3.4 billion times on social media platforms.
Flavours are found in many nicotine and tobacco products.
There are about 16 000 unique flavours.
Flavours are often cited as the number one reason for initiation of nicotine and tobacco products use.
Tobacco and nicotine industries use insidious strategies to make their harmful products appealing, especially to young people.
Manipulative product designs, attractive flavours, and glamourized marketing create a false sense of security and evoke desirability. We need to break the illusion.
Nicotine and tobacco products are highly addictive and designed to sustain use, trapping users in a cycle of dependence. Additives mask the harshness of tobacco, making it easier to start and harder to quit. No more ‘candy coating’.
Removing the appeal of these products through stricter regulations is essential to protecting current and future generations from harm. Don’t let the tobacco and nicotine industries trick people with their playbook.
Let’s stand together and make it crystal clear: No more tricks, no more traps.
JOIN THE MOVEMENT: TAKE ACTION
Here is how you can help
Ban flavours. Make flavours a thing of the past.
Regulate product design. Less appealing. Less addictive. Less toxic. Less harm.
Plain packaging. Reduce appeal, save lives.
Ban advertising, promotion and sponsorship. Out of sight, out of mind.
Tobacco and nicotine-free public places. Clean air is everyone’s right. Protect people.
Support quitting. Break the cycle of nicotine addiction.
Increase taxes. Less affordable. Less accessible.
Campaing video:
Tobacco and nicotine products: World No Tobacco Day theme is "Bright products. Dark intentions."
WHO's Science in 5:
The tobacco trap: hooked by lies
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