Preventing flavored tobacco use among youth is crucial in reducing the number of young people who start smoking or using tobacco products. Tobacco products such as menthol cigarettes, flavored cigars, and e-cigarettes are often marketed towards youth with colorful packaging and candy like flavors. To prevent youth from using tobacco products it’s important to restrict the sale of these products to minors and ban the use of flavors in tobacco products altogether. Education and awareness campaigns can also help the youth to understand the risks and dangers of using tobacco, and the deceptive labeling and marketing tactics used by the tobacco industry. Parents and guardians can be helpful in preventing youth tobacco use by talking with their children about how tobacco can be harmful to health, and to set a healthy example by not using tobacco themselves.
Steps to take in youth tobacco prevention:
- Restrict tobacco sales to minors
- Ban menthol and flavored cigars
- Educate the youth of the dangers of tobacco use
- Run prevention campaigns
- Curb youth appeal on tobacco products
- Stricter tobacco sales rules
