Debunking Misleading Claims About Tobacco

Exposing the tricks of tobacco promotion and marketing

According to the World Health Organization, World No Tobacco Day 2025 is an opportunity to expose the ways that tobacco corporations around the world use to promote and market addictive products as well as to highlight false advertising tactics that deceive people, making tobacco products more attractive, especially to children and adolescents.

Statement: “The tobacco industry contributes to scientific research on the harmful effects of tobacco to protect public health”

The truth is that the tobacco industry has a long history of creating arguments about smoking and health to dismiss or undermine scientific research on the harms of smoking. In the past, their research focused on denying the harms of smoking.

Recently, as public awareness of the harmful effects of tobacco has increased, the tobacco industry has turned to promoting new products as a “safer” alternative to continue to attract users. Evidence from studies provided by tobacco corporations is often funded by tobacco companies themselves, which does not guarantee objectivity and transparency.

Statement: Tobacco companies are complying with regulations prohibiting advertising and marketing of their products.

The truth is that tobacco corporations around the world use many sophisticated marketing and promotion strategies, mainly targeting teenagers, women and girls through modern media, influencers in the community, sponsoring sports activities such as racing, football...

There have been lawsuits against the tobacco industry, for example, in February 2025, the New York State Attorney General filed a lawsuit against 13 manufacturers, distributors and sellers of e-cigarettes for contributing to the “epidemic” of e-cigarettes among teenagers.

Statement: The tobacco industry has implemented corporate social responsibility (CSR) and brought benefits to the community.

The truth is that the tobacco industry practices corporate social responsibility (CSR) to build an image for promotion, to cover up negative impacts, and to normalize addictive products to attract users.

Statement: Support Governments of all countries in preventing and combating the harmful effects of tobacco

The truth is that around the world, the tobacco industry has a long history of taking legal action against tobacco control. They have always sued, threatened to sue, or influenced the policy process to delay or weaken tobacco control policy.

Statement: Heated tobacco products (IQOS) are intended for adults only and are intended to help quit smoking conventional cigarettes.

The truth is that new tobacco products are targeting young people. There is no scientific basis for tobacco companies to encourage cigarette smokers to switch to heated tobacco products to reduce harm.

Heated tobacco products contain nicotine and are just as addictive as regular cigarettes. Harm reduction from cigarettes cannot be achieved by introducing another addictive product, which creates a new generation of addicts (including children and women).

Evidence from countries shows that switching to heated tobacco products does not enable smokers to quit, but instead perpetuates nicotine addiction and exposure to many toxic chemicals when using multiple types of tobacco products.

The World Health Organization has affirmed: "There is no evidence to prove that electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products are less harmful than conventional tobacco products." Electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products contain nicotine, a highly addictive substance that is harmful to health, especially brain development in children and adolescents.

Nicotine and tobacco products are highly addictive and are dangerous to health, yet tobacco corporations around the world are always looking for ways to attract people to use them. No tobacco product and no level of exposure to tobacco is considered safe for health, including tobacco, cigars, heated tobacco, electronic cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco, pipes and smokeless tobacco products.

Cigarettes, tobacco products, and nicotine products are harmful and even deadly to both smokers and non-smokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke. In children and adolescents, these products can severely impair brain development.

According to WHO, it is necessary to increase the tax to 15,000 VND/pack by 2030 to achieve the goal of reducing the number of smokers in the National Strategy on Tobacco Prevention.

Tobacco tax increase is needed.

Globally, an estimated 37 million children aged 13-15 use tobacco. In many countries, e-cigarette use among adolescents has surpassed adult use.

In Vietnam, the rate of cigarette use among adult men in Vietnam is decreasing but still remains high at 41.1% (according to the STEPS-WHO 2021 survey).

For e-cigarettes, the rate of e-cigarette use among adults (15 years and older) in 2015 was 0.2% (GATS 2015), and in 2020 it was 3.6% (PGATS 2020). The highest rate of e-cigarette use was concentrated in the 15-24 age group (7.3%) followed by the 25-44 age groups (3.2%), 45-64 age groups (1.4%) (PGATS 2020).

Globally, the tobacco industry sells trillions of cigarettes each year. In addition to conventional cigarettes, e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches are promoted by companies as “harm reduction products.” This has led many people, especially young people, to misunderstand that e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are harmless and not addictive.

To protect tobacco control policies from tobacco industry interference, WHO also recommends closely monitoring and supervising tobacco industry advertising activities; strictly controlling and preventing tobacco industry interference in the development of tobacco control policies; implementing a smoke-free environment; and enforcing a comprehensive ban on tobacco and nicotine advertising on digital platforms, social networks, and entertainment media.

The World Health Organization recommends that tobacco taxes should be increased sufficiently so that tobacco prices keep pace with increases in per capita income and aim for a tax rate of 75% of retail prices to contribute to the goal of reducing tobacco use.

Message about the harmful effects of tobacco

Tobacco use causes more than 100,000 deaths each year in Vietnam.

Tobacco use causes a loss of 108 trillion VND each year, five times higher than the revenue from tobacco taxes.

Using cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and heated tobacco products costs money and health.

Using cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and heated tobacco products damages the lungs, heart, and brain, especially in young people.

Quit smoking to set a good example for your children.

Quit smoking today for your health and your loved ones.

Smoking shisha is just as harmful as using other tobacco products.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/vach-tran-nhung-tuyen-bo-gay-hieu-lam-ve-thuoc-la-post880008.html