NATA warns of youth e-cigarette marketing as Sri Lanka holds World No Tobacco Day event

Sri Lanka marked World No Tobacco Day with a national event in Colombo on Monday led by Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, with the country’s tobacco control regulator warning that the industry’s “evolving” marketing tactics are aimed squarely at young people.

The World Health Organization’s global observance is held on 31 May each year, but the national ceremony was staged on 15 June to highlight the urgent need to reduce tobacco-related deaths and protect future generations from nicotine addiction, NewsFirst reported. The 2026 global theme is “Unmasking the appeal — countering nicotine and tobacco addiction,” focused on the strategies tobacco companies use to sustain their market through new-age products.

The Chairman of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA), Specialist Dr. Ananda Rathnayake, said tobacco consumption remained a major driver of non-communicable illnesses and called for stronger public awareness and regulatory action. He warned that the tobacco industry’s “aggressive marketing tactics are designed to attract the younger generation,” often presenting e-cigarettes as safer alternatives despite growing evidence of their harmful effects.

The warning lands as the policy debate over e-cigarettes has sharpened in Sri Lanka. The government has been pushed to clarify its enforcement stance after an earlier proposed e-cigarette ban drew pushback from the tourism industry on the basis that international visitors expected access to legal vaping products. NATA’s separate longer-term campaign — creating a “tobacco-free Generation Alpha” by targeting those born after 2010 — is the policy frame for Monday’s youth-focused messaging.

The Health Ministry’s Brief Intervention training programme for primary-care staff was rolled out on the eve of the national event, with separate sessions for Colombo and Piliyandala medical officers of health led by NCD unit head Dr. Sreeni Alahapperuma alongside ADIC and the College of Psychiatrists of Sri Lanka.

Source: NewsFirst — Authorities warn youth against e-cigarette addiction.