Filipino Youth Launch Campaign vs Tobacco Industry Tactics

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

QUEZON CITY – Filipino youth from across the country gathered on Friday, June 20, to launch TobacOFF Now!, a nationwide movement aimed at exposing and countering the deceptive marketing strategies of the tobacco industry that target young people.

The campaign seeks to prevent the youth from starting and regularly using tobacco and related products by raising awareness and promoting advocacy at the grassroots level.

At the heart of the initiative is a call for young Filipinos to challenge the tobacco industry’s influence, hold it accountable, and reclaim their health, their choices, and their future.

TobacOFF Now! was developed through co-creation workshops held in March in Oriental Mindoro, Metro Manila, Iloilo, and Dinagat Islands, alongside an online survey with 170 youth respondents and creative identity testing via focus group discussions.

Its launch coincides with the annual observance of National No Smoking Month, which promotes smoking cessation and highlights the dangers of tobacco use.

The campaign responds to the 2023 National Nutrition Survey by the Department of Science and Technology–Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI), which reported a dramatic increase in adolescent smokers—from 500,000 in 2021 to 1.6 million in 2023.

Vonn Vincent Tanchuan, communications lead of the movement, said the campaign will run from June 2024 to January 2026.

It includes a dual approach: a strong social media presence and a series of community engagements that aim to connect with youth across the country.

Plans include tapping into the World Youth Day celebrations and deploying “community reporters” in partnership with local youth organizations.

The goal is to reach 10 million young Filipinos and mobilize at least 10,000 youth leaders and advocates from various communities nationwide.

“At this point, we want to reach as many people as possible first. We’re not even talking about behavior change yet,” Tanchuan said.

“We just want to make this issue accessible. We want young people to understand what we fight for, what the industry is doing, and what they can do to counter these manipulative and deceptive tactics,” he added.

Jeannie Anne Maguad, executive director of the Positive Youth Development Network, acknowledged the massive financial power of tobacco companies in influencing young consumers.

She emphasized the need to build counter-narratives through collaborative action, which she called a “multiplier factor.”

“We know that our opponents are multi-million, even multi-billion-dollar companies. For us, we believe in the capacity of the youth, and that’s what we’re holding on to,” Maguad said.

Judy Delos Reyes, executive director of Parents Against Vape, said the campaign presents a more unified front of youth resistance against tobacco industry tactics.

“From the youth we’ve talked to, they are interested in tobacco control advocacy. It’s just that their efforts were scattered,” Delos Reyes said.

“This campaign provides a strong platform for youth organizations to take part and move as one.”