Addiction has taken on a new look, wrapped in bright colours, sleek devices, and influencer endorsements. The tobacco industry has perfected one thing: if you can’t sell the smoke, sell the lifestyle.
The tobacco industry often markets emerging nicotine products such as electronic cigarettes (commonly known as vapes), nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco products (HTPs) as harm reduction tools designed to help smokers quit traditional cigarettes.
According to a report by Stopping Tobacco Organisations and Products (STOP), a global tobacco industry watchdog, heated tobacco products often marketed as “smoke-free” or “reduced-risk” still emit toxic chemicals such as carbon monoxide and carcinogens.
Some users have developed rare lung diseases and experienced elevated blood pressure, directly contradicting the industry’s “reduced-risk” claims.
Their narrative collapses under scrutiny when we see a growing number of young people, many of whom have never smoked, being introduced to nicotine through these very products.
Far from aiding cessation, these products are marketed in ways that deliberately appeal to the youth demographic. Sleek designs, sweet flavours, and aggressive digital advertising are not accidental but carefully crafted strategies to hook a new generation.
Data from the Data on Youth and Tobacco in Africa (DaYTA) reveals a worrying rise in the use of tobacco and nicotine products among adolescents aged 10–17 in Kenya, Nigeria, and the DRC, underscoring the effectiveness of these marketing tactics.
Marketing to the vulnerable
For instance, in Kenya, 23% of youth reported seeing tobacco promotions in or around schools, a clear evidence of the aggressive and strategic marketing of these products to children.
Research shows that, rather than reducing harm, these products often act as a gateway, significantly increasing the likelihood that users, particularly adolescents and young adults, will transition to combustible tobacco use.
This trend undermines the core premise of harm reduction but also affirms that the industry’s primary goal is not to help people quit, but to addict a new generation and secure lifelong customers.
In Kenya, the rise in alternative tobacco products like e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches is alarming. According to a 2024 NACADA report, 1 in 5 university students (20.4%) reported having used at least one type of tobacco product in their lifetime. Many are drawn in by appealing flavours, sleek designs, peer influence, social media, and entertainment culture. This surge is not the result of informed choices but by design.
As we mark World No Tobacco Day on May 31, we join the global call to ‘Unmask the Appeal’, the 2025 theme that challenges us to look beyond the shiny packaging and trendy language used to sell addiction. Behind the memes, influencer partnerships, and sleek devices lies an industry banking on one thing: that young people won’t ask questions.
It is a wake-up call urging governments, communities, and especially the youth to recognise the manipulation at play. It’s about exposing the tactics that disguise harm as harmless fun and shifting the conversation from normalisation to awareness.
Public health emergency
The Ministry of Health must treat this as the public health emergency it truly is. The targeted marketing of nicotine products to youth is both deliberate and dangerous, and our policies must reflect the urgency of this growing threat. We cannot allow these products to infiltrate schools and universities, trend on TikTok, and dominate urban youth culture without serious intervention.
The Ministry of Health’s initiatives, such as the gazetting of graphic health warnings, are important steps in the right direction. However, there is a pressing need for more youth-focused education that empowers young people and makes it clear there’s nothing cool about being exploited by companies that profit from addiction.
The government must also prioritise and expedite the amendment of the Tobacco Control Act (TCA), 2007, to ensure it effectively addresses new and emerging nicotine and tobacco products. This amendment should be safeguarded from industry interference to protect public health.
Join our call to protect young people, hold the industry accountable, and push for stronger regulations on all tobacco and emerging nicotine products.
If you’re looking for support to quit, reach out to NACADA’s toll-free helpline at 1192. It’s a powerful first step toward reclaiming your health and securing your future.
The writer is a communications assistant at the International Institute for Legislative Affairs (IILA)
