- Global Youth Voice

The Global Youth Voices (GYV) is a movement that represents youth coalitions and organizations from across the globe that seek to make the tobacco industry pay for the harms caused to the planet and its people, not only for those in this generation but also future generations. Since 2020, GYV raised concerns about the tobacco industry’s marketing tactics, especially for it addictive recreational products. In 2024, GYV’s previous statements and initiatives were recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and at the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Conference of the Parties.
The Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC) convenes and provides technical assistance to GYV.

Key messages from GYV:

The tobacco industry manipulates the youth into a lifelong addiction. To protect the youth, governments must adopt a ban on novel recreational addictive products. Where bans are not possible, strictly enforced regulations should apply.
The tobacco industry must pay for its misconduct and for all the harms caused to the planet and its people; it must be held accountable and liable for past, present, and future harms.
The tobacco industry is not a stakeholder and must be excluded from policy development.

We urge youth organizations to get involved & stand with GYV!

Share this open letter with your government and digital entities & support us in spreading GYV’s declaration.

Featured Event

Youth leaders and advocates for tobacco control worldwide have resoundingly held the tobacco industry accountable for the harm it inflicts in a historic declaration. As we approach the World No tobacco day, May 31, 2024, the Global Youth Voices (GYV) led efforts to galvanize the proactive youth action against the industry’s detrimental influence at the virtual summit on May 25.

Highlighting the tobacco industry’s long history of misconduct, GYV insisted that the tobacco industry must bear full liability for damages incurred in the past, present, and future. Crucially, GYV emphasizes that the tobacco industry should not be considered a legitimate stakeholder in public health policy development. To ensure unbiased and effective policymaking, the industry must be excluded from all related discussions and decisions.

Here are some simple steps that GYV proposes to tackle tobacco industry’s interference and manipulation:

Raise awareness (Educate your peers and share information)
Be aware and vigilant (Remain alert to the tobacco industry’s tactics. Continue to advocate for policies that prioritize health and well-being) Way #1
Support comprehensive bans (Advocate for a total ban on deceptive tobacco advertisements) Way #4
Demand environmental responsibility (Demand ban cigarette filters and disposable vapes, classify them as hazardous waste) Way #6
Hold the industry accountable (Push for policies making the tobacco industry financially responsible for harm and advocate for higher taxes on tobacco products to fund health and environmental initiatives. Way #3
Advocate for youth and promote policy coherence (Encourage governments to adopt youth-protective tobacco policies and ensure their representation in international forums) Way #2
Engage allies (Urge public officials, UN agencies, NGOs, educational institutions, and media to support anti-tobacco initiatives and reject tobacco industry funding or influence)
Collaborate and share strategies (Work with successful governments and organizations to resist tobacco industry interference)

By taking these steps, we can collectively protect our generation and contribute to the global goal of “Health for All.”

Visit the Declaration for more details. for more details.

For additional resources on protecting youth from the tobacco industry, please visit here.

WHO’s #WalkTheTalk

A day after the Summit, the GYV continued its advocacy at the World Health Organization’s Walk the Talk event in Geneva, denouncing tobacco industry interference and manipulation of youth through tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.

World No Tobacco Day (WNTD),2024, Youth Rally

At the WNTD Youth Rally organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) on May 14, 2024, Audrey Wong, representing Global Youth Voices (GYV), encouraged the youth in attendance to join GYV’s efforts in exposing the tobacco industry’s tactics through various channels, such as the Global Media Competition (GMC) and the GYV Summit, to ensure a tobacco-free world for future generations.

Global Media Competition 2024- Winners and Finalists of the Youth-First Policy Prize

On International Youth Day (IYD), the World Health Organization (WHO) and Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC) announced the winners of the Global Media Competition 2024 – Social Reels Challenge during a webinar participated by youth worldwide.

Winner of the Youth-First Policy Special Prize

https://youtu.be/uSmGiFgT_NY

Finalists of the Youth-First Policy Special Prize

https://youtu.be/QPGVjf0sWdohttps://youtu.be/TmQejSgpYachttps://youtu.be/tRT0r1xpNWIhttps://youtu.be/KcFDzbTdGHchttps://youtu.be/RWd_ca6VAQk

Key Positions at COP10

Global youth voices calls on COP10 delegates for urgent action on tobacco control
Over 30 youth organizations worldwide have signed on to a Global Youth statement addressed to the delegates of the Tenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). They demand that the tobacco industry should be regulated or restricted from associating itself with “harm reduction,” “wellness,” “sustainability,” and “producer responsibility;” more so, it should bear the financial consequences of its myriad harms. Read the statement.

GYV puts firm positions for COP10 Agenda
Youth organizations worldwide have come together with the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC) to put forward firm positions on matters to be decided by the COP10 that will be meeting in Panama on 2024. Global Youth Voices calls for banning novel recreational addictive products, supporting work on liability, advancing tobacco regulation efforts, and endorsing additional guidelines to tackle tobacco depiction in entertainment and digital media, among others. Read the full brief developed with the key youth organizations.

“Throughout this week, youth worldwide will be watching. Future generations will remember you as the ones who protected them or the ones who failed them and put them in danger.”
– Global Youth Voices’ message at the COP10 plenary session

Advocacy Achievements and Milestones

Since 2020, GGTC has been supporting GYV in their advocacy at various global forums as well as on relevant observance days.

*The February 2024 speech could be watched at the livestream section, Item 5 Part 3, at 34:00

Featured Resources on Protecting Youth From Tobacco Industry’s Interference

Tobacco Industry: Manipulating the youth into a lifelong addiction

Tobacco Industry: Hindrance to the elimination of child labor

Tobacco Industry’s trending ‘harm reduction’ concept is deceiving healthy younger generations into lifelong nicotine addicts

Uncovering the truths behind the tobacco industry’s deception

E-Cigarette Ban & Regulation: Global Status as of October 2023

New voices championing new tobacco products

An inherent contradiction: The tobacco industry’s ESG activities

Women and the tobacco industry

A complete repository of resources on protecting children and youth from tobacco industry’s manipulative tactics can be accessed at GYV Resources Package

Expert’s Opinion

https://youtu.be/GiupenJPe_0

Vaping Epidemic: A new hazard faced by children and the young generation

Listen to the insights of Dr. Andrew Bush, a leading UK-based consultant pediatric chest physician, as he discusses the harmful effects of vaping misinformation and its role in the increase of tobacco use among children and young adults.