Marking World No Tobacco Day 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged governments, demanding comprehensive proscriptions on all flavor complements and accessories within tobacco and nicotine products

How flavors increase appeal and harm

• Menthol, bubblegum, cotton candy, and similar tastes mask harshness, making products more enticing, especially to youth.

• Flavor chemicals (e.g., diacetyl, cinnamaldehyde) present direct respiratory risks when inhaled, and can reinforce dependence.

Current regulatory gaps

• While over fifty nations have implemented bans on flavored tobacco and more than forty restrict flavored e-cigarettes (sometimes targeting disposables or specific flavors), significant gaps remain.

• Flavor accessories—including crushable capsules, flavor cards, sprays, and filter tips—often circumvent existing regulatory frameworks.

Industry marketing tactics

• Big multinational tobacco companies use bright packaging, misleading descriptors (“natural,” “clean,” “reduced-risk”), and social media influencers to promote flavored products.

• “Next-generation” items are positioned as safer alternatives, yet many users become dual- or poly-users rather than quitting.

WHO’s recommended actions

• Implement comprehensive bans on all flavorings and flavor accessories.

• Enforce strict advertising and promotion prohibitions, including digital platforms.

• Launch counter-marketing campaigns based on credible, independent sources.

• Strengthen monitoring of emerging products, industry tactics, and potential illicit markets.

Notable country efforts

• Belgium, Denmark, and Lithuania have started regulating flavor/accessories.

With roughly eight million annual tobacco-related deaths, WHO stresses that eliminating flavors is critical to prevent a new wave of youth addiction and preserve decades of progress in tobacco control.