World No Tobacco Day, observed by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 31 May each year, aims to raise awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco and nicotine use and to promote effective prevention and smoking cessation measures worldwide. The central message of the 2026 campaign – “Unmasking the Appeal – Countering Nicotine and Tobacco Addiction” – highlights the tactics and strategies to lure adolescents and young adults into nicotine addiction and urges governments, civil society organisations, youth and youth organisations, other stakeholders to act protecting the right to health of children. They call everybody to join the movement and take action making schools nicotine and tobacco-free.
The Joint Action on REspiratory Diseases (JARED) is actively contributing to the WHO campaign. The project is supported by the European Commission and coordinated by the National Korányi Institute of Pulmonology, bringing together 35 institutions from 14 countries to improve the prevention, early detection, and management of chronic respiratory diseases.
One of the key priorities of the JARED project is tobacco prevention and smoking cessation support, with particular focus on the spread of novel nicotine products such as e-cigarettes and other alternative tobacco products. Task 5.2 of the project is being implemented by partners from seven European countries: Finland, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Portugal. During the first year of the programme, comprehensive national landscape analyses were completed in all seven participating countries to assess current smoking cessation practices, challenges, and development needs. In addition, online surveys were conducted both on smoking cessation support and school-based prevention. The surveys explored healthcare professionals’ experiences and training needs related to smoking cessation support, as well as the current situation, needs, and experiences of schoolbased prevention among educational professionals. The smoking cessation support questionnaire was completed by more than 1000 health care professionals across seven countries, while the school-based prevention questionnaire was completed by 738 teachers in five countries.
The research findings and situation analyses developed within the project highlighted that the use of novel nicotine products, particularly e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, is rapidly increasing among young people, while the prevention capacities of schools remain limited in many cases.
According to the results of the online survey for teachers, 43–61% of respondents perceived an increase in the use of novel nicotine products over the past two years, while in Lithuania 84% of school professionals reported that e-cigarettes were the most commonly observed nicotine product among students. The findings also confirmed that the 12–15-year-old age group is particularly vulnerable in terms
of first experimentation with nicotine products. As Prof. Dr. Ildikó Horváth stated “Join us to defend the youth’s right to health and freedom of choice. Let’s protect them from the deceptive tactics of the tobacco and nicotine industries.”
The results also showed that many countries still lack structured and regularly implemented schoolbased prevention programmes, while there is a significant need for teacher training, especially regarding the health risks of novel nicotine products and communication with young people. Therefore, in the next phase of the project, targeted training materials, methodological guidance documents, and proposals for guideline updates will be developed to support healthcare and educational professionals. In line with the WHO message, JARED aims to contribute to the reduction of tobacco and nicotine addiction in Europe through evidence-based, modern, and youth-focused prevention
approaches.
Regarding smoking cessation support, guideline modifications are planned in four out of seven participating countries, while two countries plan to implement in-person trainings and three countries online trainings. Concerning school-based prevention interventions, guideline modifications are planned in three out of six countries, while two countries plan to develop entirely new guidelines. For teachers, inperson
trainings will be implemented in two countries and online trainings in another two countries.
Another important focus area of the project is supporting vulnerable groups – especially pregnant women – in smoking cessation. National landscape analyses on smoking cessation support among pregnant women were completed with the participation of Finland, Hungary, and Poland. A total of 120 professionals responded to the related online questionnaires. This year, the consortium also plans to
prepare a scoping review to support the future development of effective interventions targeting this population group.
Links:
WHO World No Tobacco Day 2026: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-no-tobacco-day/2026
Campaign materials: https://trello.com/b/NL6mh17H/who-world-no-tobacco-day-2026
