World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) 2026, “Unmasking the Appeal: Countering Nicotine and Tobacco Addiction,” reemphasizes regulation as critical for tobacco control and one of the most powerful tools in global public health. Since the adoption of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in 2005, tobacco control has been reframed from an issue of individual behavior to one of governance, corporate accountability, and state responsibility.¹ As the first international public health treaty, the FCTC established a transformative legal and policy framework demonstrating how evidence-based regulation can reduce tobacco use, prevent disease, and save millions of lives.¹ The WNTD campaign now calls for reinforced regulation and governance to counter evolving industry strategies and new pathways to nicotine dependency through novel products and marketing, particularly targeted at youth.²

Tobacco use remains one of the leading preventable causes of death worldwide, accounting for around 8 million deaths annually. WHO estimated global tobacco use declined from 1.38 billion users in 2000 to approximately 1.2 billion in 2024, yet nearly one in five adults worldwide continue to consume tobacco products.² Simultaneously, the global rise of novel nicotine products is alarming. More than 100 million people are estimated to use e-cigarettes worldwide, including millions of adolescents.³ In several countries, youth vaping prevalence now exceeds adult use, reflecting the effectiveness of targeted industry marketing.⁴

The WHO South-East Asia Region (WHO SEAR) bears the largest absolute burden of tobacco consumption globally. The Region is home to approximately 322 million adult tobacco users and over 288 million smokeless tobacco users—around 80% of the global burden of smokeless tobacco use.² In fact, a defining feature of WHO SEAR is the widespread use of smokeless tobacco products such as gutka, khaini, zarda, and betel quid with tobacco.⁵ Consequently, South-East Asia experiences one of the world’s highest burdens of oral cancer, alongside substantial increases in cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, tuberculosis, and adverse maternal and child health outcomes.⁵ Tobacco use in the region is also closely linked to poverty and catastrophic healthcare expenditure, disproportionately affecting socioeconomically vulnerable populations.⁶

The emergence of novel nicotine products has introduced new regulatory challenges. Attractive flavors, sleek product designs, influencer endorsements, and social media advertising are deliberately engineered to normalize nicotine use and obscure addiction risks among young people.⁴ Adolescents are particularly vulnerable because nicotine exposure during brain development affects attention, learning, impulse control, and emotional regulation while increasing susceptibility to long-term dependence.³ Emerging evidence further suggests that young users of electronic nicotine products are more likely to transition to combustible tobacco use later in life.⁷

In spite of these concerns, WHO SEAR has also demonstrated important examples of effective tobacco-control regulation. Thailand became the first country in Asia to implement plain packaging for tobacco products and expanded smoke-free legislation to include public spaces such as beaches. Nepal, Maldives, and Timor-Leste introduced some of the world’s largest pictorial health warnings on tobacco packaging. Sri Lanka achieved more than 90% population coverage under smoke-free laws and was the first country in the region to sign the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. India strengthened tobacco packaging regulations with graphic health warnings covering 85% of pack surfaces and prohibited e-cigarettes through the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, 2019.⁸

These examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the WHO MPOWER framework, which emphasizes monitoring tobacco use, protecting people from tobacco smoke, offering cessation support, warning about tobacco harms, enforcing advertising bans, and raising tobacco taxes.² Nevertheless, major regulatory gaps persist across WHO SEAR. Weak enforcement of age-verification systems, inconsistent taxation, inadequate cessation services, and poor regulation of online advertising continue to expose young people to nicotine addiction. The tobacco industry increasingly exploits digital platforms, cross-border marketing, and regulatory loopholes to sustain consumption and expand market penetration.⁴

World No Tobacco Day 2026 therefore calls for a transition from reactive to anticipatory governance. Governments must ensure that emerging nicotine products are regulated with the same rigor as conventional tobacco products. Comprehensive bans on advertising, promotion, and sponsorship should extend to social media platforms, influencer marketing, gaming environments, and online retail systems. Flavor bans, standardized packaging, stronger taxation policies, independent product authorization systems, and robust surveillance mechanisms are urgently needed to reduce the appeal of nicotine products among youth.

The FCTC recognized that tobacco use is not merely an individual behavioral issue but a transnational public health crisis driven by powerful commercial interests, aggressive marketing, and weak regulatory environments.¹  The WHO South-East Asia experience shows that effective tobacco control is fundamentally a regulatory challenge.  Strong regulation can reduce tobacco use and protect populations from industry interference. Sustained political commitment, regional cooperation, and rigorous enforcement are now essential to prevent a new generation from becoming addicted to nicotine in increasingly sophisticated forms.

References

1. World Health Organization. WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Geneva: WHO; 2003.
2. World Health Organization. WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000–2024 and projections 2025–2030. Geneva: WHO; 2025.
3. U.S. Surgeon General. E-Cigarette Use Among Youth and Young Adults: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2016.
4. Freeman B. New media and tobacco control. Tob Control. 2012;21(2):139–144.
5. Siddiqi K, Shah S, Abbas SM, et al. Global burden of disease due to smokeless tobacco consumption in adults: analysis of data from 113 countries. BMC Med. 2015;13:194.
6. Drope J, Schluger N, Cahn Z, et al. The Tobacco Atlas. 7th ed. Atlanta: American Cancer Society and Vital Strategies; 2022.
7. Soneji S, Barrington-Trimis JL, Wills TA, et al. Association between initial use of e-cigarettes and subsequent cigarette smoking among adolescents and young adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatr. 2017;171(8):788–797.
8. Government of India. The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, 2019. New Delhi: Ministry of Law and Justice; 2019.

Author

Catharina Boehme

Dr Catharina Boehme is a public health expert with over 20 years of experience at the intersection of strategy, policy, and innovation, with 15 years in leadership positions. 

Dr Boehme is currently Officer-in-Charge, WHO South-East Asia Region.  Prior to this, Dr Boehme, was WHO’s Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Governance. Previously, as Chef de Cabinet to the WHO Director-General she played a key role in driving organizational reform and embedding gender and equity into WHO’s work. 

Before joining WHO, Dr Boehme was CEO of FIND, where she transformed the organization into a global diagnostics leader operating in over 40 countries.  In her early years as a medical doctor, Dr Boehme was with the Department of Infectious & Tropical Diseases, Munich. Here, in addition to hands-on medical care, her work included efforts towards inclusive and sustainable solutions to strengthen health systems in underserved settings, with notable practical application in Tanzania, South Africa and Ghana.