The theme for World No Tobacco Day 2025, "Unmasking the Appeal: Exposing Industry Tactics on Tobacco and Nicotine Products", seeks to highlight the deceptive strategies that the tobacco and nicotine industries use to make their harmful products appear attractive.
Despite overwhelming scientific evidence proving that vaping is a less harmful alternative to smoking, the World Health Organization (WHO) continues to spread misinformation to push unnecessarily restrictive regulations. Instead of crafting policies that empower smokers to transition while protecting young people, the WHO remains steadfast in its anti-vaping narrative.
In South Africa, the Department of Health maintains that "harm is harm" and that public health policy should focus on eliminating all harm, a stance directly aligned with WHO's position. While concerns about youth vaping are valid, the well-being of current smokers seems irrelevant to anti-smoking lobbyists.
Meanwhile, the theme for World Vape Day 2025, "20 Years of Facts – Vaping Works", calls on the vaping industry to defend itself using scientific facts instead of propaganda. As the saying goes, "facts are stubborn things."
20 years of facts – vaping works
WHO’s position on vaping products is riddled with critical scientific limitations that distort public health recommendations. Time and again, the organisation refuses to acknowledge the mounting evidence that contradicts its stance. Backed by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the anti-tobacco lobby, WHO has deviated from its original mission of reducing smoking and expanded its mandate to target all nicotine products it disapproves of.
This misguided approach has led WHO to endorse pseudo-science and promote narratives that keep millions of smokers trapped in their deadly addiction. The organization further insists that not enough is known about vaping harms, a claim that is nonsensical 20 years after vaping’s introduction.
At this stage, the world does know enough to recommend vaping over smoking rather than fueling dishonest narratives designed to confuse smokers. Whatever uncertainties remain, one fact is indisputable: vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking—a triumph for public health.
Despite begrudgingly admitting that switching "might reduce health risks," WHO buries this admission beneath layers of warnings and doubt, revealing its reluctance to embrace tobacco harm reduction fully. While some countries have adopted harm reduction policies, others—including South Africa—have ignored the plight of smokers, opting for punitive regulations over effective cessation strategies.
The youth vaping question
Youth vaping is a concern, and some unethical retailers exploit young consumers through marketing. However, instead of collaborating with the industry to eliminate bad actors, governments and anti-vaping groups aggressively push for blanket bans on flavours, ignoring research showing that flavours help adult smokers quit.
Regrettably, WHO and its well-funded anti-vaping lobby have weaponized youth vaping concerns to advance their own agenda, while overlooking the millions of adults still smoking deadly combustible products when safer alternatives exist.
Policy bias and the influence of anti-vaping narratives
Global debates over vaping policies highlight stark ideological divides. WHO’s stance heavily influences health regulations worldwide, particularly in developing countries, where governments adopt its recommendations without scrutiny.
WHO’s policy framework for e-cigarettes perpetuates a rigid, binary approach. Nations that ban e-cigarettes are encouraged to "strengthen enforcement," while countries that allow them are urged to "ban all flavors, limit nicotine concentration, and increase taxation." Regardless of regulatory stance, WHO discourages countries from "pursuing a smoking cessation strategy that permits e-cigarette commercialization as consumer products."
This position persists despite independent studies confirming e-cigarettes help smokers quit—raising legitimate concerns about whether WHO prioritizes scientific accuracy or ideological bias.
Conclusion: Who truly benefits from this approach?
WHO’s relentless misinformation campaign against vaping underscores its growing disconnect from science. This raises an important question: Should regulators continue relying on an organization that refuses to engage with contradictory evidence while pushing discredited pseudo-scientific narratives?
The most troubling aspect of WHO’s stance is its refusal to acknowledge the significant risk reduction between vaping and smoking. While youth vaping requires responsible regulation, blanket policies treating all nicotine products as equally harmful fail to serve adult smokers seeking less dangerous alternatives.
Ultimately, WHO’s 2025 World No Tobacco Day theme is not merely misguided—it is a deliberate and sustained effort to vilify vaping and ensure its demise. The lingering question remains: What happens to smokers—the very people WHO and anti-vaping lobbyists claim to care about?
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