Global Youth Voices, a movement of youth-led organizations representing over a million of youth worldwide, has come together on a groundbreaking declaration to hold the tobacco industry accountable and rally support to safeguard young people from the industry’s harmful influence.
Brussels, 30 May – At a virtual summit on May 25, 2024, the Global Youth Voices (GYV), which ENSPnext is a member, led efforts to address the tobacco industry’s impact on present and future generations. The declaration has broken grounds in youth-initiated calls to action by adopting a comprehensive, multifaceted human rights approach. It demands accountability from the tobacco industry for manipulating and addicting youth, and causing health and environmental harms. The declaration provides specific recommendations for governments and calls for the support of educational institutions, international organizations including the United Nations, and media outlets.
The summit was held to commemorate World No Tobacco Day with the theme “Protecting children from tobacco industry interference.” The World Health Organization (WHO) has called out the tobacco industry for targeting the youth with its marketing tactics and is putting its weight behind empowering young voices to urge governments to shield them from this predatory industry.
Dr. Rüdiger Krech, WHO Director for Health Promotion, expressed support for GYV, stating, “We want to shine a spotlight on a powerful force of change in our collective effort to combat the tobacco and nicotine epidemic – our youth. Their energy, passion, and innovation hold the key to a tobacco-free future. Their voices must be heard, their perspective valued, and their ideas embraced if we are to develop effective strategies that resonate with the next generation.”
The tobacco industry manipulates youth into lifelong addiction through flavors and targeted marketing. Globally, 37 million children (13-15 years old) use tobacco products including e-cigarettes. Young e-cigarette users who have never smoked are two to four times more likely to start smoking traditional cigarettes. Under the guise of ‘cessation’ or helping smokers quit, the industry justifies these risks and aggressively targets youth, especially through social media. Additionally, the industry causes significant environmental pollution, with plastics in cigarette butts and packaging costing an estimated US$26 billion annually. Cigarette butts, the most common trash item collected worldwide, further harm future generations.
“Hopefully, our efforts for this declaration will lead to a generation where tobacco industry can no longer manipulate youth because governments have put comprehensive bans in place, pursued economic or legal actions in both health and environment policies, and found means to hold the tobacco industry liable for the harms caused. We call on our allies to contribute towards these pro-youth tobacco policies,” said Tanushree Jain, GYV spokesperson.
GYV invites youth leaders and tobacco control advocates to sign the declaration and support ways to protect children from tobacco industry interference.
ENSPnext is proudly supporting the declaration, and as a member of Global Youth Voices, is encouraging all ENSP members and partners to take proactive measures within their communities to protect all children from the tobacco industry interference.
About the Global Youth Voices (GYV)
GYV is a movement that represents youth coalitions and organizations from across the globe that seek to make the tobacco industry pay for the harms caused to the planet and its people, not only for those in this generation but also future generations. Since 2020, GYV has raised concerns about the tobacco industry’s marketing tactics, especially for its addictive recreational products. In February 2024, GYV’s initiatives were recognized at the 10th session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC) convenes and provides technical assistance to GYV.
About the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control (GGTC)
GGTC collaborates with advocates, governments, and institutions worldwide to tackle the single greatest obstacle in tobacco control implementation: tobacco industry interference. Its mission is to equip change-makers with cutting-edge strategies and tools to ensure that the health of millions around the world would not suffer at the hands of the tobacco industry.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Gabrielle Marcelino | Communications Coordinator, GGTC | gabrielle@ggtc.world
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