The aim of World No Tobacco Day is to protect young people from tobacco products. This initiative serves as a platform for people, policymakers and tobacco control advocates to address this issue and calls on governments to implement measures to protect individuals from the deceptive tactics of tobacco companies. Despite progress in reducing smoking, more action is needed to protect the people due to the efforts of tobacco control authorities.

Data from 2017 shows that 267 million Indian adults aged 15 years and above use tobacco in some form or other. Smokeless tobacco like khaini, gutkha, pan and zarda are the most common types of tobacco. This is alarming because the economic cost of consuming tobacco was a whopping 27.5 billion USD for India which was completely lost due to tobacco consumption. Moreover, India has the second-highest number of tobacco users in the world. In other words, in 2022, a report suggested that 37 million young people aged 13–15 used tobacco in some form.

In the WHO European Region alone, 11.5% of boys and 10.1% of girls in this age group smoke tobacco (4 million users). The reason the tobacco industry is targeting young people stems from the need to replace lost customers each year or to maintain their profits.

Products such as e-cigarettes and nicotine packs are gaining popularity among teens. In many countries, the use of e-cigarettes by students is 2-3 times higher than the smoking rate. By making young people dependent on their products, tobacco manufacturers are actively promoting addiction. World No Tobacco Day therefore urges governments and tobacco control advocates to protect future generations from the adverse consequences of tobacco. Tobacco use is associated with cancers affecting body organs such as mouth cancer, lung, liver, stomach, pancreas, ovaries and certain blood cancers. Globally, tobacco consumption accounts for 25% of all cancer deaths, about 2.5 million deaths.