As the world marks World No Tobacco Day on Sunday, the World Health Organization (WHO) and anti-tobacco campaigners in Bangladesh have sounded the alarm over what they describe as a new generation of nicotine products designed to hook young people and expand addiction under the guise of innovation.
This year's World No Tobacco Day theme, “Unmasking the Appeal – Countering Nicotine and Tobacco Addiction,” highlights how tobacco and nicotine companies continue to redesign, repackage and aggressively market products to attract children and adolescents despite growing evidence of their health risks.
The WHO warned that the tobacco and nicotine industry is increasingly turning to synthetic nicotine, nicotine salts and nicotine analogues—substances that can enhance addiction potential while being marketed as modern, cleaner or supposedly safer alternatives to traditional tobacco products.
For decades, tobacco control measures have helped reduce smoking rates and saved millions of lives globally.
However, public health experts say the industry has adapted its strategies faster than regulations.
"Today, we are on the brink of a new addiction revolution fuelled by the industry, and tobacco control policies are not up to speed," said Dr Ghazi Zaatari, professor and chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the American University of Beirut and current chair of the WHO Study Group on Tobacco Product Regulation.
According to Dr Zaatari, the tobacco industry has increasingly shifted toward laboratory-produced nicotine products over the past five years.
"These substances have become as cost-efficient as nicotine derived from tobacco leaves. This means that the industry is moving towards a new generation of products that may contain little or no tobacco-derived nicotine, while still targeting the same brain receptors responsible for nicotine dependence," he said.
Public health experts fear the shift could fuel a major expansion of nicotine products ranging from e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches to entirely new synthetic formulations designed to deliver nicotine more efficiently and discreetly while avoiding regulatory scrutiny.
New products, same addiction
WHO says modern nicotine products are increasingly engineered around addiction science.
Nicotine salts allow higher concentrations of nicotine to be inhaled more smoothly, while sweet flavours, cooling sensations and attractive packaging make experimentation easier for first-time users.
Marketing campaigns often focus on lifestyle, technology and social identity rather than tobacco itself.
The agency warned that some companies are promoting products as "tobacco-free," "cleaner," "modern" or "less harmful," even though they stimulate the same addiction pathways in the brain.
Children and adolescents are considered particularly vulnerable because the human brain continues developing into the mid-20s. Exposure to nicotine during this period can affect attention, learning, memory and impulse control.
"Bright packaging, fruit flavours, influencer promotion and discreet product designs are not random innovations—they are mechanisms designed to normalize nicotine use and accelerate addiction among younger generations," Dr Zaatari said.
WHO noted that the use of nicotine products such as e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches is rising rapidly among adolescents worldwide.
In the WHO European Region, e-cigarette use among 13-15-year-olds has reached 14.3%, the highest regional prevalence globally. Around 4 million adolescents in the region use tobacco products, while another 4.2 million use e-cigarettes.
The agency also cited evidence showing that young people who use e-cigarettes are nearly three times more likely to start smoking conventional cigarettes later, threatening decades of progress in tobacco control.
Bangladesh faces familiar challenges
In Bangladesh, anti-tobacco organization PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) echoed WHO's concerns, saying tobacco and nicotine companies have long reinvented and repackaged products to attract children and youth into lifelong addiction.
The organization welcomed the passage of the Smoking and Tobacco Products Usage (Control) (Amendment) Act, 2026, in Parliament, describing it as a significant milestone for tobacco control efforts in the country.
However, PROGGA expressed concern that the amended law does not include provisions banning e-cigarettes, vaping devices, nicotine pouches and other emerging tobacco products.
The organization warned that the omission could expose young people to a new wave of nicotine addiction at a time when the industry is aggressively promoting such products as safer alternatives.
"Tobacco companies have been portraying these products as safe alternatives and less harmful options, which is far from the truth," PROGGA said in a statement issued ahead of World No Tobacco Day.
According to the organization, around 37.8 million adults aged 15 years and above currently use tobacco products in Bangladesh.
Tobacco-related illnesses claim nearly 200,000 lives every year, making tobacco one of the country's leading preventable causes of death.
PROGGA also said the health, environmental and economic damage caused by tobacco use and production resulted in an estimated annual loss of nearly Tk87,000 crore in 2024—more than twice the revenue generated by the tobacco sector.
On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day 2026, ABM Zubair, Executive Director, PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress), said, "To safeguard the youth from the trap of tobacco and nicotine addiction, we must take rapid and impactful policy action against e-cigarette, vaping and other emerging tobacco products."
According to PROGGA, to build a tobacco-free generation, the government must effectively implement the recently-passed tobacco control law without delay, adopt policy to counter tobacco industry interference and effectively raise prices and taxes on tobacco products to bring these products out of the purchasing capacity of the youth in the upcoming national budget.
WHO has also urged governments worldwide to strengthen regulation of all tobacco and nicotine products, including synthetic nicotine and nicotine analogues, introduce comprehensive advertising bans, restrict flavours, adopt plain packaging measures, raise taxes and expand access to smoking cessation services.
The agency warned that existing tobacco laws in many countries were not designed to address synthetic nicotine, nicotine analogues and hybrid products that blur the boundaries between tobacco, pharmaceutical and recreational categories.
"The challenge facing countries today is no longer only about cigarettes. It is about an industry that continues to redesign addiction itself," Dr Zaatari said.
Marking the day under the Bangla slogan "Prolobhoner Mukhosh Unmachan Kori, Tamak O Nicotiner Asokti Protirodh Kori," public health advocates said governments must act before a new generation falls victim to nicotine dependence disguised as innovation.
Behind sleek packaging, attractive flavours and technology-driven branding, they warned, remains the same business model—profits built on addiction.