World No Tobacco Day is being observed today across the globe

New Delhi ( Vivek Ojha ) : World No Tobacco Day is being observed today to raise awareness against the dangers of using tobacco. The day is a global initiative by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to end the use of tobacco.

Theme of This year:

The theme for this year is Unmasking the appeal – Countering nicotine and tobacco addiction. Use of nicotine products such as e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches is increasing rapidly among youth.

The European Region has the highest global average prevalence of e-cigarette use among adolescents aged 13–15 years – at 14.3%, with similar rates among boys (13.6%) and girls (15%). Comparisons between adult and adolescent survey results reveal a striking pattern: in a third of countries in the Region, the prevalence of e-cigarette use among adolescents is at least 5 times higher than among adults.

Studies show that e-cigarette use can increase conventional cigarette uptake, particularly among nonsmoking youth, by nearly 3 times, undermining tobacco control efforts.

As part of the observance, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava on Friday launched the pilot version of the Tobacco-Free Educational Institutions-ToFEI Application in New Delhi.

World No Tobacco Day is marked annually on 31 May – bringing together governments, health organizations, civil society and youth from around the world to raise awareness of the threats of tobacco use and the tactics used by the tobacco industry, and to promote effective measures to end nicotine and tobacco addiction.

The 2026 campaign aims to:

expose the industry’s strategies – including the use of synthetic nicotine, nicotine salts and analogues designed to enhance addiction potential while being marketed as innovative or even less harmful;

promote stronger policy action – through bans on flavours, advertising and promotion (including digital and social media), and through stricter regulation of packaging and product design that increase youth appeal;

empower youth and the public – by providing knowledge and tools to recognize and resist industry influence and by ensuring access to evidence-based cessation support.

World No Tobacco Day 2026 provides an opportunity to highlight how the tobacco and nicotine industry continues to repackage and rebrand its products to attract a new generation – particularly children and adolescents – while attempting to evade stronger tobacco control measures worldwide.