Past campaignAugust 2026

Our Future Is Not Their Market

Young people from different contexts unite around shared demands for governments to protect them from tobacco industry interference and addiction, and to make the industry pay for the harms it causes.

About the Campaign

For International Youth Day 2026, GYV brought together youth organizations and coalitions around a common concern: the tobacco industry continues to see young people as its next market. Products and promotional tactics differ across countries, but the need for protection is shared.

The campaign builds on the GYV Declaration and its call to protect this generation and those that follow. It connects the experiences of youth organizations and coalitions with the responsibility of governments to prevent addiction, keep policymaking independent, and make the tobacco industry pay for the harms it causes. Environmental protection remains a distinct priority, including action on tobacco pollution and industry greenwashing. Across these demands, the campaign asks governments to act on their commitments and gives participating organizations a shared position to carry into their own country contexts.

Campaign Strategy

Objectives

Bring youth perspectives from different countries into a shared call for government action.
Strengthen protection against tobacco industry interference and the recruitment of young people into addiction.
Advance financial and legal accountability for tobacco industry harms.

Key Messages

Protect young people from addiction. Ban novel recreational tobacco and nicotine products; where bans are not yet adopted, enforce strong restrictions on products and promotion.
Keep the tobacco industry out of policymaking. Decisions affecting young people must remain independent of industry interests.
Make the industry pay. Governments should use financial and legal measures to recover the costs of tobacco-related harm.
Protect the environment. Address tobacco pollution and reject industry greenwashing that turns environmental initiatives into opportunities for influence.
Keep nicotine science independent. Scientific assessments must be transparent and free from tobacco and nicotine industry influence.

Progress & Updates

This section records campaign outputs, institutional responses, and verified developments as the campaign progresses.

August 7

A shared call to governments

GYV published its International Youth Day open letter, Protect Young People, Make the Tobacco Industry Pay. It asked governments and international institutions to protect young people from addiction and make the tobacco industry pay for the harm it causes. The letter also encourages for the publication of concrete steps by the end of 2026 on preventing addiction, industry accountability, policy protection, and independent nicotine science.

August 8

Youth perspectives published in InDepthNews

Gene Gesite Jr., Juan Herrera, Sama Ghozlan, Sarah Rauzana and Winnie Olwal took the campaign’s messages to InDepthNews. Drawing on experiences across regions, their opinion article connected the different ways young people encounter tobacco industry tactics with a common demand for stronger government action.

August 12

Institutional acknowledgments and amplification

The WHO Director-General and the Head of the WHO FCTC Secretariat acknowledged the transmission of the open letter. The Secretariat carried its messages into International Youth Day communications, mentioning or tagging GYV on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn, among others. GYV also sent the appeal to the UN Secretary-General, UNEP, UNICEF and the Chair of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. The campaign opinion article was shared with WHO and the Secretariat, and Andrew Black promoted it on LinkedIn.

August 20

Country outreach and campaign dissemination

Participating organizations in Costa Rica and the Philippines sent the letter to government officials and offices.