For World No Tobacco Day 2026, tobacco control advocates united around the theme “Unmasking the Appeal: Countering Nicotine and Tobacco Addiction,” exposing how the tobacco and nicotine industry continues to hook new users while evading tobacco control measures worldwide.
Vital Strategies collaborated with grantees and partners around the world on campaigns, workshops and activations, many of them focused on youth, to highlight this issue and support governments to rein in predatory industry marketing.
Youth Activations and Campaigns
Over 1,000 young people came together across four countries, joining the F*Nicotine global youth movement to call on their policymakers to protect them from tobacco marketing.
In Bandung, Indonesia, student leaders at SMAN 20 high school brought their concerns to the provincial secretary and formed a human puzzle symbolizing how individuals, communities, governments and schools must work together to say no to nicotine. In Quezon City, Manila, Philippines, young people participated in a community march and called for a ban on electronic cigarettes. In Mexico City, Mexico, a sport activation integrated educational messaging on the harms of nicotine. And in São Paulo, Brazil, young girls marched and engaged passersby through conversation and flyer distribution, denouncing the tobacco industry’s predatory marketing tactics.
The events generated 83 national and local media stories, reaching approximately 17 million people.
Meanwhile, in Viet Nam, Vital Strategies partnered with the Viet Nam Tobacco Control Fund and Youth Union to mobilize more than 300 young people to take action in protecting youth from tobacco and nicotine addiction. The event brought representatives from the Ministry of Health and WHO together with youth leaders, who committed to continuing to expose the tobacco industry’s marketing tactics targeting young people.
In India, Vital Strategies and partners hosted youth-focused rallies, sensitization workshops and events. Vital and partners also hosted a workshop on the harmful marketing of tobacco and newer nicotine products. The workshop engaged 30 youth ambassadors using insights from Canary—Vital Strategies’ AI-powered media monitoring system—and a youth campaign was launched building on these insights.
In addition, Vital Strategies supported a media campaign in Ukraine to strengthen regulation of oral nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products, aligning them with tobacco regulations and restricting flavored products.
Capacity Strengthening and Support to Government Partners
Vital Strategies’ partners hosted sensitization workshops, engaged with stakeholders and led dialogues in a range of countries, including Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Türkiye, Ukraine and Viet Nam.
In Viet Nam, Vital Strategies supported the LIFE Organization to organize a workshop to improve implementation of smoke-free hospital policies. In attendance were the deputy director of the Department of Health, heads of key DOH divisions, representatives from Viet Nam Tobacco Control Fund, and more than 120 participants from municipal hospitals.
In Bangladesh, Vital Strategies assisted the National Tobacco Control Cell in drafting World No Tobacco Day messaging for the president, prime minister, health minister and other government officials. The messages were included in a full-page newspaper supplement, and the prime minister shared them on social media.
In India, Vital Strategies supported subgrantee Mahbhum Ananda Ashram Nityananda Trust in hosting a national consultation on oral nicotine pouches. The event facilitated dialogue among policymakers, researchers and public health stakeholders on regulating the pouches.
Awards Celebrating Advocates’ Impact
Behind these impressive accomplishments are tireless advocates. Vital is immensely proud of our partners and the work they do every day to advance tobacco control. We congratulate our partners and subgrantees who received 2026 WHO World No Tobacco Day Awards:
- Dr Waseem Iftikhar Janjua, Senior Researcher, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Pakistan
- Tobacco Control Cell, Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Government of Pakistan
- National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India
- Ministry of Health, Moldova
- Mônica Andreis, Director-President, ACT Promoção da Saúde, Brazil
- Dr. Inti Barrientos, Medical Sciences Researcher, National Institute of Public Health, Mexico
- Dr. Allen Gallagher, research fellow and Co-Director, Tobacco Control Research Group, University of Bath, United Kingdom
- City Government of Baguio, the Philippines
- Tobacco Control Fund, Ministry of Health, Viet Nam
Calling Attention to Our Priorities
Vital also advanced our thought leadership around World No Tobacco Day, taking advantage of the global moment to reflect on progress made and call for further advancements.
Gustavo Sóñora, Vital’s Regional Director, Latin America for the Tobacco Control Division, published an op-ed on the need for Mexico to continue building on its successes in tobacco control in Su Médico, an editorial of La Silla Rota.
Aminul Islam Sujon, our Technical Adviser, Policy Advocacy and Communication in Bangladesh published an op-ed on the urgency of protecting youth from the tobacco industry in BDNews24.
Also in Bangladesh, our Technical Advisor for Tobacco Industry Interference, Fahmida Islam, published an op-ed about unmasking the digital appeal of tobacco and nicotine products in The Business Standard.
We are proud of Vital’s and partners’ contributions to a day that generated public conversation, youth engagement and government coordination to protect the next generation from the tobacco industry’s insidious marketing tactics.