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Welcome to the ENSP newsletter, your source of information on tobacco control across the WHO European Region. At ENSP, our mission is to end the tobacco epidemic and beat cancer through collaborative efforts, research, and advocacy.
Join us in our journey to achieve a tobacco- and nicotine-free world! |
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European Youth Leaders Launch Digital "Tobacco-Free Advent Calendar" to Support Student Health and Wellbeing
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Youth leaders from six European countries unite to provide a digital resource for mental, physical, and economic well-being during the holiday season.
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The European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention Youth Group (ENSPNext) and the International Youth Health Organization (YHO) are proud to announce the launch of the Tobacco Free Advent Calendar 2025.
As part of the multinational "Youth Leadership in Action" program, this digital calendar is available for free starting today through December 24th. At a time when tobacco and nicotine products are aggressively marketed to young people, this campaign comes at a crucial moment. It highlights exceptional and relatable stories from students and experts across various fields, empowering youth leaders to improve the mental, physical, and economic health of their peers through strong tobacco control advocacy.
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The initiative has grown significantly since its first edition. Darius Lotrean, medical student and founder of the Tobacco Free Advent Calendar, explains the project's evolution:
"When I started this project three years ago, my intention was to make tobacco control accessible in a fun way. Since then, we have discovered that youth are eager to contribute, and this project has evolved into a vital hub for youth leaders in tobacco control."
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The Tobacco Free Advent Calendar officially launches today, December 1st. |
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We strongly encourage the public to back the efforts of our youth leaders by accessing our digital advent calendar and sharing their support on social media using the hashtag #tobaccofreeadventcalendar.
It is essential that youth voices are represented and heard; everyone can contribute to having these voices heard.
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4P-CAN launches the Health Festival: the first Living Lab events in rural Bulgaria
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The Health Festival is the first event organised within the Bulgarian Living Lab, established by the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at Plovdiv University Paisii Hilendarski, in partnership with the 4P-CAN Project.
The Centre’s team includes lecturers, researchers and medical experts. |
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These initial Health Festival sessions mark the beginning of a series of activities within the newly established Living Labs in Bulgaria, designed to connect researchers, healthcare professionals, and citizens in a shared effort to promote healthier habits and informed lifestyle choices. |
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Throwback to the WHO FCTC
COP11 & MOP4
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COP11 marked a turning point in global tobacco control, shifting from simply recognising tobacco’s harms to actively pursuing industry accountability. Parties advanced concrete measures on environmental responsibility, cost recovery and liability, and forward-looking policies designed to go beyond the baseline requirements of the WHO FCTC. They reinforced the need to protect policymaking from commercial influence, countering industry narratives such as “harm reduction” that seek to shape treaty direction. Youth advocates played a visible role, urging governments to adopt stronger, future-oriented measures and reminding Parties that protecting the next generation requires confronting the industry directly. |
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With commitments on waste management, industry liability, smoke- and aerosol-free UN premises, and greater information-sharing between Parties, COP11 signaled a growing resolve to ensure that the environmental and economic costs of the tobacco epidemic are no longer endured by the population. Parties now move toward translating these decisions into national action and the tobacco control community is here to offer its support. |
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Present and future generations
Youth take over at COP11 |
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After a success at COP10 in Panama, youth delegates were again highly visible throughout COP11. They stressed that safeguarding future generations and the environment depends on confronting the tobacco industry’s actions and keeping it away from policymaking spaces. Their message resonated with senior officials, who highlighted the essential role of young leaders in driving the future direction of global tobacco control.
A series of high-level meetings have taken place between key WHO FCTC COP11 representatives and youth from across the world. They came together to insist on a future free from the tobacco industry’s interference, manipulation and harm. Their message was echoed by Andrew Black, Acting Head of the WHO FCTC Secretariat, who emphasised that the most powerful push for stronger tobacco control will come from youth advocates themselves. |
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ENSP hosted a side event focused on strengthening youth empowerment and presenting best practices from all WHO regions to support the implementation of Articles 5.2(b) and 5.3. The session concluded with the launch of the Intergenerational Manifesto, which calls for coherent regulation, shared responsibility and concrete action to address the intertwined climate and health crises.
A small delegation, which included Mikołaj Patalong, Matej Petelin and Karina Mocanu, from the Youth Advisory Group (YAG) at the EU Joint Action Prevent NCDs, joined the ENSP delegation and the overall efforts to promote youth empowerment and representation in high-level settings. During a side event hosted by IFMSA, Mikołaj Patalong outlined the main barriers to meaningful and sustained youth participation in tobacco control processes and presented concrete measures that institutions and networks can adopt, drawing on the experience of YAG. In addition, YAG members met with representatives from JA Prevent NCDs, including Ms Hanna Ollila, and with WHO Europe, represented by Ms Angela Ciobanu. |
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In addition, youth representatives from Africa, Europe, Latin America and Asia highlighted a shared demand during the meeting with the COP11 President, Dr Reina Roa: creating a structured, permanent and meaningful role for young people in COP processes and tobacco control decision-making. Youth delegates stressed that they are not only major targets of the tobacco and nicotine industry but also skilled contributors: health professionals, researchers, data specialists, communicators and advocates directly engaged in FCTC implementation. They noted that current COP mechanisms do not yet reflect this technical capacity or the need for an intergenerational approach. Drawing on examples from other UN processes, such as the UNFCCC’s formally recognised youth constituency, they called for progress toward a similar structure within the FCTC framework. |
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The youth delegation also met with Etienne Krug, Director of the WHO Department of Social Determinants of Health, for a focused discussion, aiming at a more direct exchange, and allowing participants to reinforce the message of structured, meaningful youth participation in global tobacco control.
At the close of COP11, youth delegates highlighted the progress made on Articles 18 and 19 and the growing momentum toward stronger fiscal and accountability measures, while warning that industry interference remains a persistent threat. In a powerful statement during the Closing Plenary, they highlighted that young people are not only the industry’s primary targets but also key contributors to effective tobacco control, actively working in communities and engaging throughout the COP.
Drawing on successful youth participation models in other UN processes, they urged Parties and the Secretariat to establish a formal, resourced mechanism for structured youth engagement before COP12. Youth stand ready to help shape the future of the FCTC and called on governments to make meaningful youth involvement a standard part of global tobacco control. |
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The question before us is simple:
How can we claim to protect future generations if we do not fully include them in shaping the solutions? |
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All publications from the TPC Journal can be found here. |
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Kalin Werner, Tracy K. Lin, Rahaf H. Binshehah, Mohammed A. Shahin, Abdulmohsen H. Al-Zalabani, Mariam M. Hamza, Reem F. Alsukait, Volkan Cetinkaya, Taghred Alghaith
Marco Scala, Alessandra Lugo, Anna Odone, Luc J. Smits, Silvano Gallus |
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Do you have an event coming up or content to promote? Would you like to share your best practices or inform us about local initiatives?
Share your work and promote your activities among 3.500+ colleagues in Europe and around the globe via The Network - ENSP newsletter |
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