Today, May 31st, World No Tobacco Day returns, the initiative promoted every year by the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness on damage from smoking and promote effective prevention policies.
.
The 2025 edition presents itself with a direct and provocative message: “Down with the mask” (Bright products. Dark intentions. Unmasking the Appeal), which points the finger at the strategies of marketing of the tobacco industry, increasingly targeting young people with apparently harmless but highly harmful products.
A Modern Threat: New Addictions Among Young People
Although the overall number of smokers in Italy is decreasing, the new generations are particularly vulnerable. At the centre of the health alarm are the electronic cigarettes disposable and heated tobacco devices, perceived by younger people as less harmful alternatives, but in reality they carry nicotine addiction and health risks. According to data from the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, the number of adolescents who use these products is increasing, in many cases already between the ages of 13 and 15. The numbers remain dramatic: in Italy, over 93.000 people die every year from smoking-related causes.
Initiatives in Italy for No Tobacco Day
To counter this new emergency, several Italian cities and health institutions have implemented a series of measures events and awareness campaigns: the Ministry of Health and the Istituto Superiore di Sanità will launch a national multi-channel campaign aimed at young people, with TV spots, social content and testimonials from ex-smokers. Educational meetings and information workshops will be organised in some high schools, also in collaboration with the ASL and associations anti-smoking.
In many Italian squares there will be set up information stands with doctors, psychologists and volunteers to offer support to those who want to quit smoking. Some pharmacies and anti-smoking centers will offer free consultations and tests to measure nicotine addiction. Finally, “Smoke-Free Day” initiatives will be promoted in public places, with symbolic smoking bans in parks and urban areas, to raise awareness of the culture of free breathing.
In Bergamo the special initiative: an apple for a cigarette
Bergamo's initiative is unique. For the occasion, starting yesterday, an information gazebo will be set up in Hospital Street at the Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital in Bergamo: volunteers from the Italian League for the Fight against Tumors LILT Onlus Bergamo and from "Together we can. Together it works", pulmonologists and oncologists from the Bergamo Hospital and students from the degree courses at the University of Milan Bicocca based in Bergamo will be available to provide information on the damage caused by tobacco and useful advice for quitting. In exchange for a cigarette, a gift will be given apple, to symbolically encourage the move towards healthier lifestyles.
Leave a comment (0)