Prevent future cancer deaths, protect youth from tobacco industry manipulation
In support of World No Tobacco Day on 31 May, UICC is calling for urgent action to protect young people from the predatory tactics of the tobacco industry, and its efforts to oppose responsible anti-tobacco legislation wherever possible.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Despite a decline in global tobacco use, more than 38 million young people aged between 13 and 15 still use some form of tobacco, with the industry aggressively targeting youth through deceptive marketing practices.
- The tobacco industry undermines public health efforts by misusing science, opposing anti-tobacco laws, and promoting new nicotine products as safe alternatives, despite evidence of their health risks and potential for addiction.
- The tobacco industry spends billions targeting young adults with aggressive marketing, portraying nicotine products as fashionable and safe, thereby increasing youth susceptibility to lifelong addiction and smoking-related diseases.
- UICC advocates for stringent marketing controls, increased taxation on tobacco products, and the creation of smoke-free areas to protect youth from tobacco's harmful effects and deceptive advertising tactics.
Tobacco use is responsible for 85% of all lung cancer deaths and approximately 25% of all cancer deaths globally. This amounts to an estimated 2.5 million deaths annually, which could otherwise be prevented.
Despite a decline in global tobacco use from 1.36 billion in 2000 to about 1.25 billion users aged 15 and older, the decrease is less substantial than hoped. More than 38 million young people aged between 13 and 15 are using some form of tobacco.
The tobacco industry’s misuse and abuse of science, its opposition to anti-tobacco laws, its attempts to influence public health debates, and its aggressive marketing of harmful products, seriously undermine public health efforts.
World No Tobacco Day 2024
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“The tobacco industry spends billions to relentlessly target young adults to recruit them as lifelong consumers to replace those who have smoked themselves to an early death. We must protect young people from these harmful products and help them understand the degree to which they are being influenced by companies that are concerned not with their health but only by profits.”
– Prof. Jeff Dunn AO, President of UICC, Chief of Mission and Head of Research at the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia
The tobacco industry portfolio of new nicotine products includes e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, snus, and nicotine pouches. These products are often portrayed, on social media and other platforms popular with youth, as fashionable and safe alternatives to traditional cigarettes, despite the growing evidence about the health harms associated with these products, the potential for lifelong nicotine addiction, and the higher risk of smoking and dependency overall.
The use of digital platforms allows the tobacco industry to bypass laws banning the promotion of tobacco products according to WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The billions spent on direct and indirect advertising continues to normalise tobacco use and make it appear glamorous and socially acceptable.
Youth advocate Elvina Majiwa highlighted in a recent UICC blog that despite advertising bans, tobacco companies in Kenya exploit loopholes by leveraging influencers to market nicotine pouches to young people and sponsoring high-profile music concerts and sporting events.
In a recent podcast with UICC CEO Cary Adams, youth activists Agamroop Kaur and David Planas Maluenda discussed how the tobacco industry uses social media influencers to promote vaping products, making them appear attractive and safe to young people. To counter this, they suggested anti-tobacco campaigns should use peer-to-peer education and influencers to spread health-positive messages.
"Tobacco use among the youth is alarmingly high. And deceptive online advertising, and counter the industry's aggressive tactics aimed at renewing the customer base."
– Cary Adams, CEO of UICC.
UICC advocates for stringent controls on the marketing of new nicotine products, increased taxation on tobacco products, and the development of smoke-free areas to protect youth from second-hand smoke. Additionally, UICC supports the implementation of comprehensive tobacco control measures as outlined in the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
"The tobacco industry's tactics are ruthless and manipulative. They fuel high rates of tobacco use among young adults, directly exposing them to increased cancer risks. This undermines efforts to reduce the number of people who develop cancer and die of it. We owe it to the next generation to protect them from tobacco products by implementing and enforcing robust tobacco control policies.”
– Ulrika Årehed Kågström, President-elect of UICC and Secretary-General of the Swedish Cancer Society
Last update
Friday 21 June 2024
