This year, too, the aim is to "expose the attraction" and thus combat nicotine and tobacco addiction. The tobacco and nicotine industry is constantly launching new products such as e-cigarettes with special flavours or nicotine-containing "lifestyle products" in attractive designs, which are primarily intended to appeal to the young demographic. The aim is to retain users and attract new consumers. The health risks posed by these products are trivialised and glamorised.
Accordingly, this year's campaign aims to sensitise the population, especially young people, to the strategies of the tobacco and nicotine industry in order to reduce the demand for nicotine and tobacco products and thus counteract addictive behaviour. This means more information and education on the tactics used by manufacturers, such as influencing through marketing strategies, product descriptions and product content, as well as support options for quitting smoking. The focus is also on advocating stricter political measures such as bans on flavours for e-cigarettes, advertising bans or regulations for packaging and product designs in order to reduce the attractiveness of the products and thus their "appeal". E-cigarettes in particular are currently the most popular nicotine product among young people.
Compared to other European countries, Germany lags far behind in the implementation of measures to reduce tobacco consumption, meaning that there is a need for increased implementation of political measures for tobacco control. Every year, around 131,000 deaths in Germany can still be attributed to tobacco-related illnesses.
In addition to health consequences, nicotine and tobacco consumption also has a negative impact on the environment due to the waste products produced. Contamination of water and soil, damage to animals and plants and the creation of microplastics are just a fraction of the effects on the environment. The ecological footprint of tobacco production is also large. At around 83 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents, global tobacco production causes as many greenhouse gases as a small industrialised country.
It is worth giving up smoking: To protect your health and the environment.
Support in quitting smoking
Specialist centre for addiction prevention
Haldensleben drug and addiction counselling centre
Hagenstraße 38
39340 Haldensleben
Tel.: 03904/6685850
Fax: 03904/6688080
Mail: praevention-hdl(at)web.de
www.suchtberatung-haldensleben.de
BIÖG telephone counselling for smoking cessation
0 800 8 31 31 31 (free service number), Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Database for support services in your area
www.anbieter-raucherberatung.de
Further information on this topic can be found on the homepage of the German Cancer Research Centre: https: //www.dkfz.de/forschung/translationale-zentren/ncpc/stabsstelle-krebspraevention/weltnichtrauchertag