WHO’s theme for the 2025 World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) campaign is “Unmasking the Appeal: Exposing Industry Tactics on Tobacco and Nicotine Products.” This year, the campaign will focus on revealing the tactics that the tobacco and nicotine industries use to make their harmful products seem attractive.

Tactics include:

• Glamorized marketing: Sleek designs, attractive colours, and alluring flavours are strategically used to attract a younger demographic, including through digital media channels.
• Deceptive designs: Some products mimic sweets, candies, and even cartoon characters—items children naturally find appealing.
• Coolants and additives: These can make the experience smoother, increasing the likelihood of continued use and reducing the chance of quitting.

On World No Tobacco Day, SIOP calls for strong action to prevent, reduce, and stop tobacco use and vaping amongst teenagers and adults- especially childhood cancer survivors and caregivers.

Tobacco and nicotine companies target youth and families with misleading marketing but the cost is far too high.

• Childhood cancer survivors are 3–6x more likely to develop a second primary cancer.
• Second-hand smoke causes 65,000 preventable child deaths each year.
• Vaping isn’t a safe alternative. It exposes young lungs to harmful chemicals and can lead to nicotine addiction.
• In some countries, easy access to chewable (or smokeless) tobacco increases the risk of oral cancers in children and young people.

Let’s protect young lives and unmask the industry tactics that put them at risk.