On World No Tobacco Day, the World Health Organization has launched a new publication and called on governments to urgently ban all flavors in tobacco and nicotine products, including cigarettes, pouches, hookahs and e-cigarettes, to protect youth from addiction and disease.

Flavors like menthol, bubble gum and cotton candy are masking the harshness of tobacco and nicotine products turning toxic products into youth-friendly bait. Flavors not only make it harder to quit but have also been linked to serious lung diseases. Cigarettes, which still kill up to half of their users, also come in flavors or can have flavors added to them.

"Flavors are fueling a new wave of addiction, and should be banned," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO. "They undermine decades of progress in tobacco control. Without bold action, the global tobacco epidemic, already killing around 8 million people each year, will continue to be driven by addiction dressed up with appealing flavors," he added.

The publication, titled, "Flavor accessories in tobacco products enhance attractiveness and appeal," reveals how flavors and accessories like capsule filters and click-on drops are marketed to bypass regulations and hook new users.

Currently, more than 50 countries ban flavored tobacco, but flavor accessories remain largely unregulated.

More than 40 countries ban e-cigarette sales; five specifically ban disposables and 7 ban e-cigarette flavors.

Countries such as Belgium, Denmark, and Lithuania are taking action, WHO said, and urged other countries to follow suit.

For comments and feedback contact: [email protected]