Past campaignMay 2026

Unmasking the Appeal: Youth Counter Addiction and Demand Accountability

A campaign exposing how tobacco and nicotine products are designed, marketed, and positioned to create addiction among young people, and connecting prevention with industry accountability.

About the Campaign

For World No Tobacco Day 2026, GYV connected the appeal of tobacco and nicotine products with the industry influence that allows harmful practices to continue. The campaign brought youth advocates together to examine marketing, product design and industry narratives, and to strengthen their calls for government action.

The campaign asks what makes these products appealing, whose interests their promotion serves, and what governments can do to protect young people. Its focus extends from flavors and digital marketing to industry narratives that seek to influence public health decisions. Grounded in the GYV Declaration, the campaign connects these concerns with financial and legal accountability for tobacco-related harms. Youth organizations and coalitions bring their experiences to this shared call, supported by opportunities to build advocacy skills and develop clear, consistent messages for different audiences.

Campaign Strategy

Campaign Objectives

  • Expose the tactics used to make tobacco and nicotine products attractive to young people.
  • Help youth advocates recognize and challenge tobacco industry interference.
  • Connect prevention of addiction with financial and legal accountability for industry harms.

Key Messages

  • Expose the appeal. Flavors, product design, digital promotion and lifestyle branding are tools for attracting young customers.
  • Challenge industry narratives. Tobacco industry claims must not determine public health policy or give the industry a role in shaping it.
  • Protect young people through policy. Governments must address the products and promotional practices that sustain addiction.
  • Hold the industry accountable. The costs of tobacco-related harm should fall on the companies responsible.

Progress & Updates

This section records campaign outputs, institutional responses, and verified developments as the campaign progresses.
April 16-18

Preparing shared messages for World No Tobacco Day

Youth advocates met in Bangkok for an AI Boot Camp convened by the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control to prepare coordinated advocacy for World No Tobacco Day and other advocacy opportunities. They discussed tobacco industry interference, youth-targeted products, and environmental harms, then developed scripts, explainers, social media content, and video concepts.
Read more: Preparing shared messages for World No Tobacco Day
May 27

Youth webinar connects prevention and accountability

The campaign’s international webinar brought together 73 participants from 35 countries. Youth advocates exchanged perspectives on the appeal of tobacco and nicotine products, the industry influence behind them, and the policies needed to prevent addiction and hold companies accountable. GYV participating organizations that provided additional support included International Youth Tobacco Control, the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation, the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations, ASEAN Youth Organization, Y-ACT, Alianza Juvenil, A Non Smoking Generation, Ahsania Mission Youth Forum and ENSPNext.
Read more: Youth webinar connects prevention and accountability
May to June

Youth advocacy showcase and follow-up communication

As a follow-up to the AI Boot Camp organized in Bangkok, youth advocates from Indonesia, Colombia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, the United States, Egypt, Zambia and Thailand produced contents for the Vision for Change: Global Youth Advocacy Showcase.