The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged governments worldwide to prohibit flavours and additives, including menthol, in tobacco and nicotine products to safeguard children and young people from addiction.
WHO Regional Director Speaks on World No Tobacco Day
Dr Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa, made the appeal in a statement issued on Sunday to mark World No Tobacco Day, under the theme "Unmasking the Appeal: Countering Nicotine and Tobacco Addiction." He warned that rapid shifts in tobacco and nicotine markets are undermining decades of public health progress across Africa and exposing young people to unprecedented dangers.
Janabi described nicotine addiction as "engineered, not accidental," driven by deliberate industry strategies aimed at attracting users early and keeping them dependent for life. He explained that the theme highlights how manufacturers use sugars, menthol, acids, and cooling agents to mask nicotine's harshness, making products more enticing for first-time users.
Call for Stronger Regulations
He urged African member states to strengthen regulations that reduce the addictiveness, appeal, and accessibility of tobacco and nicotine products, especially among individuals under 25. Janabi noted that Africa's hard-won tobacco control achievements face new threats from emerging products such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, nicotine pouches, and similar substances.
"Despite many countries ratifying the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and reducing tobacco use through taxes, smoke-free laws, and pictorial warnings, aggressive marketing and regulatory loopholes are undermining progress," he said.
Vulnerability of Young People
Young people are particularly vulnerable because the adolescent brain adapts rapidly to nicotine. With over 60% of Africa's population under 25, failing to act decisively will have profound long-term consequences. "Prevention through comprehensive policy action is more effective and equitable than treating addiction after it takes hold," Janabi emphasized.
The tobacco industry's objective remains unchanged: to recruit new users, replace those lost through quitting or death, and secure lifelong profits. "What has changed is how addiction is engineered," he stated.
Product Design and Addiction
Janabi explained that today's tobacco and nicotine products are deliberately designed to encourage use and increase dependence, with features informed by research into brain responses and human behavior. By adding sugars, flavours, menthol, acids, and artificial cooling agents, manufacturers mask nicotine's harshness, making products easier to inhale for first-time users. Many products also allow users to adjust nicotine strength or delivery, enabling them to inhale more harmful substances without realizing it.
"These design strategies accelerate the path from experimentation to dependence, particularly among adolescents whose brains are still developing," he warned.
Health Risks and Industry Tactics
Even low levels of nicotine exposure can lead to strong dependence, impaired brain development, and increased risk of long-term addiction. Evidence shows that nearly nine in 10 adults who smoke daily began before age 18, making children and adolescents prime targets for industry marketing. The industry uses flavoured products, sleek designs, digital and social media marketing, influencer promotions, and misleading harm-reduction claims to normalize nicotine use and portray it as fashionable or harmless.
"There is no safe tobacco use or safe level of non-therapeutic nicotine exposure," Janabi stressed. All tobacco and nicotine products, including cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, waterpipes, e-cigarettes, heated tobacco, and nicotine pouches, are harmful and addictive. Even smoking one cigarette a day significantly increases the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Using more than one product increases toxic exposure and makes quitting harder.
"Nicotine does not relieve stress; it creates it. The temporary relaxation users feel is merely relief from withdrawal symptoms, which reinforces addiction and harms mental well-being over time," he said.
Protecting Children and Promoting Quitting
Children face additional dangers because even small amounts of nicotine can cause serious poisoning, while accidental exposure to nicotine pouches and liquids is an emerging but preventable risk. However, the benefits of quitting are immediate: within minutes, heart rate and blood pressure drop; within weeks, circulation and lung function improve; within a year, the excess risk of heart disease is halved.
To sustain progress, governments need to close regulatory loopholes, strengthen product design and packaging rules, and consider reducing nicotine content to non-addictive levels in line with WHO scientific recommendations. Central to all efforts is protecting health policy from tobacco industry interference, as required under Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. "The industry that engineered addiction cannot be permitted to influence public health solutions," Janabi concluded.
