Ahead of the upcoming World No Tobacco Day, health authorities and international public health organizations have convened a national youth-focused forum in Belize to confront the growing public health threat posed by the tobacco and vape industry, calling out the sector’s deliberate business model built on sustaining nicotine addiction to drive repeated profits.
Hosted jointly by Belize’s Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the National Tobacco Youth Forum held on May 29, 2026, serves dual purposes: it delivers evidence-based education to young people on the severe harms of all tobacco products, especially modern alternatives like vapes and e-cigarettes, and creates a space for youth to share their own experiences and concerns about industry outreach in their communities. This event marks the launch of a nationwide series of public awareness initiatives designed to counter misleading industry marketing.
Esner Vellos, director of Belize’s National Drug Abuse Control Council (NDACC), condemned the industry’s deceptive marketing tactics that frame vaping products as glamorous, trendy, and socially desirable to hook new young users. He highlighted a particularly worrying emerging trend: a steady rise in tobacco and vape use among young women, a demographic that has become a key target for industry advertising campaigns.
Misleading promotion across social media has fostered a dangerous misconception among large swathes of Belize’s youth: that vaping is a safer, less harmful alternative to traditional cigarette smoking. Health officials emphasize that this widespread belief is entirely false. Vellos stressed that contrary to popular marketing claims, vapes still contain thousands of toxic chemicals linked to the development of cancer and other life-threatening chronic conditions.
Dr. Karen Lewis-Bell, PAHO/World Health Organization representative for Belize, expanded on the industry’s strategic targeting of young consumers. Tobacco companies now design vapes with trendy flavors and modern, appealing packaging to deliberately downplay risks and position the products as harmless recreational items for young people. At their core, these products are engineered to leverage the powerful addictive properties of nicotine. “The most addictive substance in cigarettes is the nicotine. And so the vapes now focus on the addictive substance because the industry really wants to get you hooked and get your money over and over and over again,” Lewis-Bell explained.
Beyond cancer, long-term use of vapes and other nicotine products carries severe chronic health risks, including heart disease, stroke, chronic lung disease, and aggravated asthma, according to public health experts. As the first in a planned series of events, the National Tobacco Youth Forum kicks off a sustained effort to correct misinformation and protect Belize’s younger generation from the predatory practices of the vape and tobacco industry.