By Robert Egbe
As the world marks World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) 2026, public health advocates are warning against what they describe as a deceptive campaign by the tobacco industry known as “World Vape Day.”
Unlike World No Tobacco Day, which was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco use, World Vape Day is not recognised by the WHO, the United Nations, or any credible international public health institution.
Health advocates say the campaign is designed to promote vaping products as safer alternatives to cigarettes while hiding the dangers of nicotine addiction, especially among children and teenagers.
Brazil remains one of the strongest examples of resistance against vaping products. Since 2009, the country has banned electronic smoking devices, including e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products. Although the law allowed tobacco companies to seek approval if they could prove the products were safe, nearly two decades later, no company has met the required scientific standards.
Brazil’s health regulator, ANVISA, said available evidence failed to support claims that vaping products reduce harm or help smokers quit tobacco. Instead, studies showed serious health concerns, particularly among young people.
Globally, vaping has grown rapidly. More than 100 million people now use vaping products, including about 15 million children and adolescents. According to WHO data, children are now nine times more likely than adults to vape. Surveys conducted across 123 countries also revealed that at least 15 million teenagers aged 13 to 15 already use vaping products.
Nigeria is also witnessing a rise in the availability and promotion of nicotine products.
A report released in February by Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) revealed that tobacco companies and their allies have exploited loopholes in Nigeria’s tobacco control laws to introduce at least 573 new and emerging nicotine products into the market.
The report noted that many of the products are packaged, flavoured and advertised in ways that attract young people.
In 2024, an investigation in parts of Abuja found that cigarettes and vaping products were being sold to schoolchildren, including students wearing school uniforms, despite laws prohibiting sales to minors.
Public health experts warn that vaping products can serve as gateway substances that eventually lead many young users to cigarette smoking and long-term nicotine addiction.
Available data show that more than 25,000 Nigerian children aged between 10 and 14 use tobacco daily, while nearly 30,000 Nigerians die annually from tobacco-related illnesses.
Advocates also criticised the tobacco industry’s “Quit Like Sweden” campaign, which claims Sweden reduced smoking through widespread use of snus and nicotine pouches.
However, Sweden’s Cancerfonden (Swedish Cancer Society) rejected the claim, insisting there is no evidence linking snus to the country’s decline in smoking rates. Instead, experts credit Sweden’s success to decades of strict tobacco control measures, including higher tobacco taxes, advertising bans, age restrictions, smoke-free public spaces and free smoking cessation services.
Across the world, governments are increasingly taking legal action against tobacco companies over the health and economic damage caused by smoking-related illnesses.
In Nigeria, the Federal Government and the states of Kano, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Gombe are reportedly pursuing legal claims worth more than ₦10 trillion against British American Tobacco over allegations linked to the marketing and manufacture of tobacco products.
This year’s World No Tobacco Day theme, “Unmasking the Countering Nicotine and Tobacco Addiction,” highlights growing concerns over the tobacco industry’s strategies, including the use of fruit flavours, celebrity endorsements and social media campaigns to attract younger consumers.
Public health advocates insist that behind the modern branding and colourful packaging lies the same long-standing objective of the tobacco industry: recruiting new users and sustaining nicotine addiction.
They maintain that World Vape Day is not a public health campaign, but a coordinated marketing strategy that should continue to face public scrutiny and rejection.
