ILOILO City – To counter the growing influence of tobacco and nicotine products on young Ilonggos, the city government is launching a citywide campaign on May 30 to mark World No Tobacco Day, zeroing in on the deceptive marketing tactics used by the tobacco and vaping industries.
To be held at SM City Iloilo and organized by the City Health Office (CHO), the event will carry the theme “Unmasking the Appeal: Exposing Industry Tactics on Tobacco and Nicotine Products,” in line with this year’s global campaign spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The event aims to debunk the glamorization of smoking and vaping, especially among youth — a demographic the tobacco industry aggressively targets through colorful packaging, flavored products, and misleading claims about the safety of vape use.
“We need to implant awareness early on,” said Nurse IV Analeen Galilea of the CHO. “Addiction often starts at a young age, so we must be proactive in helping our children understand the dangers before it becomes a habit.”
Aside from public awareness, the campaign will expose how industry strategies — such as masking the harshness of nicotine, using sleek branding, and exploiting social media — make these harmful products appealing and addictive.
More than 100 participants, primarily young people from the city’s seven districts, are expected to join the campaign. The initiative forms part of a broader push to promote a smoke-free and vape-free environment in Iloilo City.
The CHO earlier identified cardiovascular disease as the leading tobacco-related illness in the city, exacerbated by lifestyle conditions like hypertension and diabetes.
Health authorities stressed that preventing early exposure to nicotine and reducing its appeal is critical to curbing long-term addiction and its costly health impacts./PN
