WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY 31st May 2026 Countering nicotine and tobacco addiction
|
Dr Ksh Kala Singh (MCh, Past President Manipur Heart Care Society)
World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is observed around the world every year on 31st May. The annual observance informs the public on the dangers of using tobacco, the business practices of tobacco companies, what World Health Organisation (WHO) is doing to fight against the use of their right to health and healthy living and to protect future generations. The Member States of the WHO created World NO Tobacco Day in 1987 to draw global attention to epidemic and the preventable death and disease it causes.
The day is further intended to draw attention to the widerspread prevalence of tobacco use and to negative health effects, which currently lead to more than 8 million deaths each year worldwide, including 1.2 millions as the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. The theme for World No Tobacco Day 2026 is "Unmasking the appeal - countering nicotine and tobacco addiction."
The campaign will expose how the tobacco and nicotine industry continues to reinvent and repackage its products to hook a new generation, particularly children and adolescents, while evading stronger tobacco control measures worldwide.
Startling new data reveal the scale of the crisis: at least 40 million children aged 13-15 globally report current use of at least one tobacco product. Of these, 20 million smoke cigarettes and 10 million use smokeless (oral/nasal) tobacco. Also, at least 15 million adolescents aged 13-15 years are already using e-cigarettes, and in countries with data, children are on average nine times more likely than adults to vape.
"Young people are being targeted by design," said Vinayak M Prasad, Head of the No Tobacco Unit, WHO.
The 2026 campaign aims to
• raise awareness of the tobacco and nicotine industry's evolving strategies, including the use of synthetic nicotine, nicotine salts, and analogues to increase addiction potential while appearing technologically advanced;
• advocate for stronger policy action to protect youth through bans on flavours, advertising and promotion (including on digital and social media), and regulation of packaging and product design that increase appeal; and
• prevent addiction and reduce demand by equipping the public - especially youth - with the knowledge and tools to resist industry manipulation and access evidence-based cessation support.
Harmful contents of tobacco
Some of the important harmful contents of tobacco are nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, arsenic, cadmium, ammonia, turpentine, methoprene, acetone, lead, propylene glycol etc.
(A) Harmful effects of tobacco on the newborn babies heart are:
(i) Congenital Defects of the Heart. Pregnant women with smokers will cause defect in developing heart of the foetus, particularly in the formation of the septum of the heart thereby causing holes of the Septum (Atrial Septum Defect, Venticular Septum defect etc. The Congenital defects of the Heart particularly TOF (Tetralogy of Fallot) & PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus) are found in those pregnant women of chronic smokers.
(ii) Dead foetus : It may be due to the side effect of the carbon monoxide & nicotine to the cardiovascular system of the foetus through the placental circulation.
(iii) Pre-term baby: Delivery before the full term may occur in those mothers who are chronic smokers and tobacco users due to delayed development in different organs of the foetus.
(iv) Low birth weight baby: Due to improper Development of Lung & Cardiovascular system.
(B) Harmful effects of tobacco use in adult heart
(i) Raise triglycerides (a type of fat in blood) & decreases high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC-C) levels.
(ii) Make blood sticky and more likely to clot, which can block blood blow to the heart and brain.
(iii) Damage cells that line the blood Vessels and initiated endothelial dysfunction.
(iv) Increase the buildup of plaque (fat, cholesterol, Calcium and other substances) in blood vessels& increased thrombgenesis.
(v) Cause thickening and narrowing of blood Vessels. As a result of these effects Atheroscclerosis (Thickening & Stiffness of Vessels), Hypertension (High Blood pressure), Heart attack (coronary artery disease), Stroke (bleeding in the brain), Aneurysm (weakening, dilatation & enlargement of blood-vessels), Peripheral Vascular disease(Buerger’s disease), Heart failure (when the Heart cannot pump enough blood & oxygen to support other organs), Arrhythmia (when the heart beats too fast, too slow or irregular) and other disorders of the cardiovascular system etc. will occur to the chronic tobacco users causing heart disease actually result in more death per year than smoking caused lung cancer.
Thirty percent of heart disease deaths are caused by cigarette smoking. The campaign calls on Governments, partners, and civil society to strengthen regulation, close policy gaps, and safeguard future generations from the harms of tobacco and nicotine products.
Each year on 31st May, World No Tobacco Day unites Governments, health organizations, civil society, and youth voices under a shared mission : to end the tobacco epidemic and secure a tobacco- and nicotine-free future for the next generation.
World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is observed around the world every year on 31st May. The annual observance informs the public on the dangers of using tobacco, the business practices of tobacco companies, what World Health Organisation (WHO) is doing to fight against the use of their right to health and healthy living and to protect future generations. The Member States of the WHO created World NO Tobacco Day in 1987 to draw global attention to epidemic and the preventable death and disease it causes.
The day is further intended to draw attention to the widerspread prevalence of tobacco use and to negative health effects, which currently lead to more than 8 million deaths each year worldwide, including 1.2 millions as the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke. The theme for World No Tobacco Day 2026 is "Unmasking the appeal - countering nicotine and tobacco addiction."
The campaign will expose how the tobacco and nicotine industry continues to reinvent and repackage its products to hook a new generation, particularly children and adolescents, while evading stronger tobacco control measures worldwide.
Startling new data reveal the scale of the crisis: at least 40 million children aged 13-15 globally report current use of at least one tobacco product. Of these, 20 million smoke cigarettes and 10 million use smokeless (oral/nasal) tobacco. Also, at least 15 million adolescents aged 13-15 years are already using e-cigarettes, and in countries with data, children are on average nine times more likely than adults to vape.
"Young people are being targeted by design," said Vinayak M Prasad, Head of the No Tobacco Unit, WHO.
The 2026 campaign aims to
• raise awareness of the tobacco and nicotine industry's evolving strategies, including the use of synthetic nicotine, nicotine salts, and analogues to increase addiction potential while appearing technologically advanced;
• advocate for stronger policy action to protect youth through bans on flavours, advertising and promotion (including on digital and social media), and regulation of packaging and product design that increase appeal; and
• prevent addiction and reduce demand by equipping the public - especially youth - with the knowledge and tools to resist industry manipulation and access evidence-based cessation support.
Harmful contents of tobacco
Some of the important harmful contents of tobacco are nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, arsenic, cadmium, ammonia, turpentine, methoprene, acetone, lead, propylene glycol etc.
(A) Harmful effects of tobacco on the newborn babies heart are:
(i) Congenital Defects of the Heart. Pregnant women with smokers will cause defect in developing heart of the foetus, particularly in the formation of the septum of the heart thereby causing holes of the Septum (Atrial Septum Defect, Venticular Septum defect etc. The Congenital defects of the Heart particularly TOF (Tetralogy of Fallot) & PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus) are found in those pregnant women of chronic smokers.
(ii) Dead foetus : It may be due to the side effect of the carbon monoxide & nicotine to the cardiovascular system of the foetus through the placental circulation.
(iii) Pre-term baby: Delivery before the full term may occur in those mothers who are chronic smokers and tobacco users due to delayed development in different organs of the foetus.
(iv) Low birth weight baby: Due to improper Development of Lung & Cardiovascular system.
(B) Harmful effects of tobacco use in adult heart
(i) Raise triglycerides (a type of fat in blood) & decreases high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC-C) levels.
(ii) Make blood sticky and more likely to clot, which can block blood blow to the heart and brain.
(iii) Damage cells that line the blood Vessels and initiated endothelial dysfunction.
(iv) Increase the buildup of plaque (fat, cholesterol, Calcium and other substances) in blood vessels& increased thrombgenesis.
(v) Cause thickening and narrowing of blood Vessels. As a result of these effects Atheroscclerosis (Thickening & Stiffness of Vessels), Hypertension (High Blood pressure), Heart attack (coronary artery disease), Stroke (bleeding in the brain), Aneurysm (weakening, dilatation & enlargement of blood-vessels), Peripheral Vascular disease(Buerger’s disease), Heart failure (when the Heart cannot pump enough blood & oxygen to support other organs), Arrhythmia (when the heart beats too fast, too slow or irregular) and other disorders of the cardiovascular system etc. will occur to the chronic tobacco users causing heart disease actually result in more death per year than smoking caused lung cancer.
Thirty percent of heart disease deaths are caused by cigarette smoking. The campaign calls on Governments, partners, and civil society to strengthen regulation, close policy gaps, and safeguard future generations from the harms of tobacco and nicotine products.
Each year on 31st May, World No Tobacco Day unites Governments, health organizations, civil society, and youth voices under a shared mission : to end the tobacco epidemic and secure a tobacco- and nicotine-free future for the next generation.