Protecting Children from Nicotine Addiction
Istanbul, 4–6 November 2026
Together, let us protect the next generation from nicotine addiction.
Don't Miss Out — Register Now and Attend the 11th ECTC!
:
https://ensp-ectc.org/
The rapid expansion of new nicotine products is creating an unprecedented threat to children and adolescents. Products containing a highly addictive psychoactive substance are increasingly marketed through flavours, colours, attractive packaging and sophisticated digital promotion that appeal directly to young people.
The public-health dangers of tobacco use and nicotine addiction are no longer in question. The evidence is clear, and the health consequences are well established.
The challenge before us now is to move beyond awareness and regulation and mobilize society as a whole. Protecting children from nicotine addiction requires education, prevention and engagement across every dimension of society — families, schools, healthcare professionals, policymakers, communities, civil society, youth organisations, the media and faith communities. We must equip the next generation with the knowledge and resilience to understand the risks, while creating environments in which nicotine addiction is prevented rather than normalised. This is not only a public-health responsibility; it is a responsibility shared by the whole of society.
The time has come not only to recognise this challenge, but to act together.
The 11th European Conference on Tobacco Control (ECTC) in Istanbul will mark an important new chapter for the global tobacco and nicotine control movement.
Organised by the European Network for Smoking and Tobacco Prevention (ENSP) and the Turkish Green Crescent (Yeşilay), this edition will be held under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye.
(https://www.tccb.gov.tr/en/presidency/projects/),
ENSPNext, the youth network, will bring something particularly important to Istanbul: the voice of the next generation. ENSPNext will present young people's perspectives and launch its strategy for tobacco and nicotine control.
But Istanbul will be more than another conference!
The Istanbul Conference will confront the defining challenges of the new nicotine era: the aggressive expansion of e-cigarettes and new-generation nicotine products; the growing epidemic of nicotine addiction among children and adolescents; the urgent need to strengthen tobacco-control policies and accelerate implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC); the increasingly sophisticated strategies and interference of the tobacco and nicotine industry; and the use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence both as powerful tools for prevention and as new battlegrounds for protecting young people from commercial influence. Above all, the conference will seek to strengthen international cooperation and build a truly global response to the rapidly evolving nicotine threat.
It must be the beginning of a new approach to a global problem.
A problem that is global requires a global response — one that brings together science, educational and health systems, governments, civil society, young people, communities and faith leaders.
We warmly invite you to join us in Istanbul and contribute to what will become a landmark event for protecting children from nicotine addiction.
If you — or your organisation — have a role to play in global public health and education, you should be in the room!
