World No Tobacco Day - May 31

World Health Organisation | CC BY-SA 4.0

➡️ WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY, May 31st - The Dangers of Use & Countering Addiction

Despite the well-known adverse health effects, smoking remains one of the greatest preventable health risks worldwide. The use of traditional cigarettes has significantly declined, but the popularity of e-cigarettes, vapes, and nicotine pouches has resulted in rising addiction rates.

This day was established by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1987 to educate the public about the dangers of tobacco products, the immoral business practices of the industry, and to help people claim their right to a healthy lifestyle.

The 2026 campaign “Unmask the appeal – countering tobacco and nicotine addiction”, focuses not only on smoking itself, but also on the mechanisms behind nicotine addiction. It highlights how modern products with colourful designs, sweet flavours, and glamourised advertising target young people.

Jump straight to our resources on ➡️ No Tobacco Day

Explore our comprehensive guides on -

• Smoking As A Health Hazard
• Aids To Quit Smoking
• The Tobacco Lobby
• Smoking Bans
• Passive Smoking
• Young People At Risk

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Flickr | Trinity Care Foundation

Dangers & Risks

Tobacco claims approximately 8 million lives annually. This includes more than 7 million direct users and 1.3 million non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke. Globally, about 1.1 billion adults smoke, 80% of these reside in low- and middle-income countries.

There is also a large gender divide. Smoking is significantly more prevalent in men than in women. The health implications include significantly increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, chronic respiratory illnesses, and type 2 diabetes. Lifelong smokers live an average of 10 years less than non-smokers.

Smoking costs the global economy over $1.7 trillion annually in healthcare costs and loss of productivity.

The WHO has sounded the alarm over the rapid rise of vaping worldwide. Originally designed as a tool to help people quit smoking, “E-cigarettes are fuelling a new wave of nicotine addiction,” said Dr Etienne Krug, Director of WHO’s Department for Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention.

Globally, over 100 million people use e-cigarettes - 15 million are teenagers. Children are now nine times more likely to vape than adults. WHO has accused the vaping industry of “aggressively targeting children and young people,” using marketing and unregulated online platforms to attract new users.

Adolescents who vape are 3 to 5 times more likely to take up conventional tobacco smoking. They are under the impression that these products are less harmful than traditional cigarettes and are unaware of their highly addictive nature.

Approximately 40 million young people aged 13 to 15 worldwide consume tobacco products.

Statista | CC BY-ND 4.0

In addition to this new wave of very young smokers, the rise of electronic cigarettes is creating a massive environmental issue. In the UK alone, more than 6 million vapes and vape pods are discarded every single week. These items are not recyclable and can not be simply thrown away.

Under a mountain of plastic and highly flammable waste, the UK now faces a £1 billion-a-year problem.

Prevention & Regulation

Those who want to quit smoking don't have to go it alone. Initiatives like "Smoke-Free in May" provide participants with digital support through the first few weeks of quitting. General practitioners can also recommend personalised cessation programs and provide resources such as behavioural therapy or nicotine replacement products.

The health benefits of quitting smoking begin sooner than many realise: blood pressure and pulse rate decrease after only a short time, breathing and physical stamina improve after a few weeks, and in the long term, the risk of serious illnesses is significantly reduced.

World No Tobacco Day, therefore, not only serves as a reminder of the dangers but also of how each day without nicotine is a win for our health.

Flickr | Trinity Care Foundation

Around 71% of the world's population now lives in areas where there is either a complete or partial smoking ban. One of the strictest anti-smoking laws in the world is in Mexico, where smoking is banned in all public spaces, including beaches, parks, hotels, and all indoor areas.

Graphic packaging warnings, advertising bans, and taxation are other measures which have been introduced around the world to try to prevent the sale and use of tobacco products.

The UK's landmark Tobacco and Vapes Act came into force in April 2026. It officially makes it illegal to ever sell tobacco to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009. This legislation will permanently raise the legal smoking age by one year, every year, beginning in 2027. The law also makes it an offence for anyone over 18 to purchase tobacco products on behalf of those affected by the generational ban.

In 2006, the Maldives became the first country to actively enforce a generational tobacco ban. They passed legislation to prevent anyone born after 2006 from purchasing, selling, or using tobacco. So far, these are the only two countries to have brought in such a ban.

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The underlying goal of the WHO and the No Tobacco Day campaign is to protect children and young people from passive smoking and from early initiation of nicotine use.

It is intended to raise awareness of the risks and to start societal debates on how prevention and protective measures can be effectively implemented in the future.

Lobbying by the vaping industry is highly aggressive and pervasive. It is largely funded by "Big Tobacco" companies. Globally, it is worth between $48 billion and $61 billion. Projections indicate that the market will continue to expand rapidly over the next few decades until stricter regulations are implemented.

“The tobacco epidemic is far from over” - WHO

Author: Maximilian Stark, 27.05.26, Translated and edited by Rachael Mellor 27.05.26, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

For further reading on World No Tobacco Day see below ⬇️