Tobacco industry aims to hook new generation on vapes, WHO says

Tobacco companies still actively target young people via social media, sports and music festivals and new, flavoured products, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday (May 23), accusing companies of trying to hook a new generation on nicotine. Amid ever-stricter regulation targeting cigarettes, big tobacco companies and new entrants have begun offering smoking alternatives such as vapes, which they say are aimed at adult smokers. But the WHO said these products' are often marketed to youth, their design and variety of fruity flavours appeal to children, and that young people are more likely to use the products than adults around the world. “The industry's goal is clear. Replace tobacco users lost to death and disease with a fresh wave of users trapped in addiction. We can't stand by and watch this happen,” WHO Director of Health Promotion Ruediger Krech said. The WHO's increasingly tough stance on newer nicotine products comes after a sharp rise in youth vaping across several countries, which it says is in part driven by the dizzying array of fruity and sweet flavours on offer. Big tobacco companies and a host of new entrants making vapes or other smoking alternatives say flavours are an important tool in encouraging adult smokers to switch to an alternative product. The WHO said other tactics used by the industry that target children include sponsorship of music and sports festivals, the use of social media and product placement in TV shows and games. - Report from Reuters For more ABS-CBN News videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmh2QdQIUTg8drWJzhiGn29W For more latest news and analysis from ABS-CBN News videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmirlKxlCckfVQAgc0Xg3uZ4 For more latest Entertainment News videos, click the link below: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmjT9hEOBQXAoI1gxbcvG87r Subscribe to the ABS-CBN News channel! - http://bit.ly/TheABSCBNNews Watch the full episodes of TV Patrol on iWantTFC: http://bit.ly/TVPatrol-iWantTFC Visit our website at http://news.abs-cbn.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abscbnNEWS Twitter: https://twitter.com/abscbnnews #LatestNews #ViralNews #TrendingNews