New Delhi, May 30: Urgent action is needed to ban flavoured tobacco, nicotine products that are increasingly being disguised as safer alternatives and deliberately targeted at children and adolescents, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday, ahead of World No Tobacco Day.

World No Tobacco Day is observed every year on May 31. The theme this year "Bright products. Dark intentions. Unmasking the Appeal" sheds light on the concealed risks of tobacco products that are made to look attractive through enticing flavours, eye-catching packaging, influencer endorsements on social media, and misleading health claims.

The WHO called on governments to urgently ban all flavours in tobacco and nicotine products, including cigarettes, pouches, hookahs, and e-cigarettes, to protect youth from addiction and disease. The products also include menthol, bubble gum, and cotton candy which mask the harshness of tobacco and nicotine products turning toxic products into youth-friendly bait.

These not only make it harder to quit tobacco but have also been linked to serious lung diseases. “Flavours are fuelling a new wave of addiction, and should be banned. They undermine decades of progress in tobacco control,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO.

Flavoured tobacco is currently banned in over 50 countries, and more than 40 countries have also banned e-cigarette sales. While five nations specifically ban disposables, 7 ban e-cigarette flavours. Yet, flavoured accessories remain largely unregulated.

Saima Wazed, Regional Director for WHO South-East Asia said an estimated 11 million adolescents aged 13-15 years are already addicted to tobacco products in the region -- nearly 30 per cent of the global total in this age group.

“We now face aggressive industry marketing of new and emerging nicotine and tobacco products (NENTPs) -- such as electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and flavoured nicotine pouches. These are being disguised as safer alternatives and deliberately targeted at children and adolescents,” Wazed said.

Tobacco use remains the single most preventable cause of death worldwide and is a leading risk factor for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory illness.

“Without bold action, the global tobacco epidemic, already killing around 8 million people each year, will continue to be driven by addiction dressed up with appealing flavours,” Ghebreyesus said.

(IANS)

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