Photo story – Countries of the WHO European Region empower young people to stand up to tobacco industry manipulation on World No Tobacco Day

The theme of this year’s World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) campaign was “Protecting youth from industry manipulation and preventing them from tobacco and nicotine use”. During the campaign, countries raised awareness about the tactics of tobacco and related industries to attract younger generations. Activities included webinars, online conferences, drawing competitions and award ceremonies, all of which encouraged everyone to become well informed, spread awareness about tobacco industry tactics and join the fight to create a tobacco-free generation.

In the European Region, 14% of boys (2.2 million) and 12% of girls (1.7 million) aged 13–15 years are current tobacco users. Tobacco and related industries spend billions of dollars every year on marketing and advertising, and use tactics such as free product samples, sleek designs, product placement in entertainment media, and sponsored events and parties to attract children and adolescents.