WHO calls for urgent action to ban flavoured tobacco and nicotine products

Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on May 31, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on governments to urgently ban all flavourings in tobacco and nicotine products, including cigarettes, nicotine pouches, hookahs and e-cigarettes.

“Flavourings are fuelling a new wave of addiction and must be banned,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

"Without decisive action, the global tobacco epidemic, which already kills around 8 million people every year, will continue to thrive under the influence of addiction disguised by pleasant tastes," he added.

According to WHO, more than 50 countries have now banned flavored tobacco, more than 40 countries ban the sale of e-cigarettes, and seven countries ban e-cigarette flavors.

We're watching an entire generation get hooked on nicotine through rainbow vapes and gummy bear-flavored pods

Countries such as Belgium, Denmark and Lithuania are planning to take action, and WHO is calling on others to follow suit.

Flavourings are the main reason young people try tobacco and nicotine products, according to the WHO. Combined with brightly coloured packaging and social media marketing, they have increased the appeal of nicotine pouches and vapes.

“We are seeing an entire generation being hooked on nicotine through rainbow vapes and gummy bear-flavoured pods,” said Rüdiger Kretsch, WHO’s director of health promotion.

"This is not innovation, this is manipulation. And we must stop it," he added.

World No Tobacco Day 2025 will also pay tribute to governments, activists and civil society leaders who are standing up to industry interference and attempts to hook young people and teenagers on nicotine products. “Your actions change policy and save lives,” Krech said.

Every year, about 8 million people die from tobacco-related causes, the WHO reminds and calls for intensifying measures to combat tobacco. Flavors have no place in a healthy future, the organization's experts emphasize.