Get the Facts • World No Tobacco Day 2024

Collage of photos, fact sheets, and publications assessing tobacco industry tactics targeting youth. In the background is an orange target symbol with icons of cigarette stores surrounding a school.

If facts speak for themselves, these ones are unspeakably appalling.

World No Tobacco Day represents an opportunity to expand your comprehension of a global problem. From sales and advertising near schools and playgrounds to online marketing and products designed to look (and taste) like candy, explore some of the latest evidence showing just how far the tobacco industry is willing to go to beckon young consumers towards a lifetime of nicotine addiction and tobacco use.

Moreover, these IGTC-generated resources can support policy interventions and enforcement efforts to prevent youth uptake and combat the tobacco epidemic.

Three separate studies were conducted to examine various digital marketing strategies employed by companies on their brand websites to promote e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTPs) online in China, the Philippines, and Vietnam. 

A series of observational studies were conducted to monitor the sale and/or marketing of nicotine and tobacco products near schools to assess compliance with country laws in China, India, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

The world’s largest multinational tobacco companies are using consistent strategies to advertise cigarettes to children in 42 majority low- and middle-income countries. Documented in a video and published reports, a surveillance study conducted in partnership with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids underscores the opportunity for stronger laws and enforcement to protect kids worldwide.

A series of online focus group discussions with 119 adolescents in 10 Chinese cities explored sources of tobacco marketing exposure and what features made marketing attractive. The findings are detailed in a fact sheet and published paper.

Tobacco industry documents reveal companies’ knowledge of a similar young adult market across countries in terms of attitudes and lifestyle aspirations. Some tobacco companies, therefore, use similar marketing approaches across different jurisdictions. 

Findings from a mixed-methods study conducted in Mexico City in collaboration with the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) showed that cigarette pack color is a key feature to increase appeal, communicate the addition of flavor, and influence perceptions of harm among adolescents in Mexico City. 

A secondary analysis of focus group studies conducted among youth in Mexico and the Philippines examined young adults' perceptions of flavored cigarette packs, including those containing flavor capsules.